FANTASY FOOTBALL NEWS

Lions Get Za'Darius Smith

By Matt Schauf | Updated on Tue, Nov 5 2024 1:59 PM UTC

The Browns are trading Edge Za'Darius Smith to the Lions for a 2025 fifth-round pick and a late-round pick swap in 2026. Smith has 5 sacks and 7 QB hits through nine games. He joins a Detroit defense that has tallied 5 sacks over three games since Edge Aidan Hutchinson went down -- including just 1 total sack over the past two weeks.

2024 Fantasy Football Impact

This move has been rumored for weeks and clearly upgrades Detroit's pass rush.

At 32, Smith is working on a Pro Football Focus rushing grade that's well down vs. his past two seasons. But his 27 total pressures tie for 23rd among 192 edge players this season.

Smith has elite pass-rushing performances behind him and joins a defense that has played well despite the Hutchinson injury. Combine that with the league's top scoring offense pressuring opponents, and Smith gets a nice upgrade in situation.

The move also means he won't get a bye week this year. Cleveland hits its bye this week. Detroit's came back in Week 5.

The Browns figure to turn to Edge Ogbo Okoronkwo as the primary fill-in for Smith, opposite Myles Garrett.

Okoronkwo has just 7 total pressures through nine games and is working on thhe lowest PFF grades of his career across categories. He gets an upside matchup with the Saints in Week 11 to show us whether he'll present usable IDP value the rest of the way.

Matt Schauf, Editor

Matt has earned two Fantasy Pros accuracy awards for IDP rankings and won thousands of dollars as a player across best ball, dynasty, and high-stakes fantasy formats. He has been creating fantasy football content for more than 20 years, with work featured by Sporting News, Rotoworld, Athlon, Sirius XM, and others. He's been with Draft Sharks since 2011.