The fantasy football landscape shifts each week, bringing fresh opportunities and unexpected challenges that separate the prepared from the pretenders. Savvy managers know that last week’s performance tells only part of the story, and diving deeper into the underlying metrics reveals the accurate picture.
This week presents some intriguing decisions. Here’s insight about key New Orleans Saints players heading into their matchup with the New York Jets to help you craft a winning lineup.
Tyler Shough, QB
Tyler Shough (current) and Drake Maye (Weeks 6-9)..
Those are the two quarterbacks this season with four straight games of 6+ rushing attempts and a +65% completion rate.
I’m not here to sell you on New Orleans’ rookie as some sort of difference maker, but I do think he at least deserves our attention. He funneled 29% of his targets in the direction of Chris Olave against the Panthers over the weekend and isn’t that really all we want from these young kids that are just getting their feet wet?
He’s prioritizing his top teammate and taking what defenses are giving him on the ground. Do I think he’s a top-12 option this week or in 2026?
Probably not, but he’s producing above expectations at the most important position in the game for a team that plays indoors and in a division where defense is largely optional.
You’re not doing your job as a fantasy manager if you’re not intrigued by this profile.
MORE: Free Fantasy Waiver Wire Tool
Alvin Kamara, RB
Alvin Kamara missed a third straight game with this knee/ankle injury, and there’s little reason to think that the 30-year-old is going to return in a meaningful way (if at all) for fantasy managers.
The veteran back is averaging just 3.6 yards per carry this season and hasn’t earned more than three targets in a game since the first half of October. The one-time fantasy difference maker has been unable to return any value for the majority of the season, and a potentially compromised version of him is unlikely to reverse that trend.
New Orleans has shown some fight down the stretch with a young nucleus: I’m anticipating that they lean into that over the final few weeks of the season, and that means that Kamara, even if deemed healthy enough to play, won’t project for enough work as part of a well-below-average offense to crack lineups.
Devin Neal, RB
Devin Neal was able to get you a rushing score for the second straight week before exiting with an ankle injury. He was deemed questionable to return for the entire second half, but never did make it back on the field.
It sounded as if he had a good chance to go this week, and considering that he had 37 touches in the two games prior, that would have put him into the low-end RB2 conversation against a Jets team that has tapped out.
MORE: Free Fantasy Start/Sit Lineup Optimizer
The Saints don’t have any win/loss motivation, but as a team that is coming upon the end of an era with Alvin Kamara, they likely want every data point they can gather on the sixth-round rookie out of Kansas.
That tells me that this hamstring injury is no joke. The team ruled out Neal on Wednesday, leaving this backfield in the hands of Evan Hull and Audric Estime. While I think both are worth a speculative add due to their proximity to volume, I’m not playing either with any level of confidence in the semifinals.
Chris Olave, WR
Chris Olave was left in single coverage, and Tyler Shough took advantage to get him into the end zone and give this team a chance to beat a motivated Panthers team.
The final stat line isn’t going to finish among the top 10 at the position this season, but Olave’s ability to make the most of this situation has me higher on him now than I was at the beginning of the season.
The Jets just coughed up 48 points in Jacksonville, so you’re starting him without much of a thought, but I’m more talking about next season. In theory, he’ll have more support around him, and that should boost his efficiency.
I won’t spoil my 2026 rankings, but I’m going to like New Orleans’ WR1 more than you, and I’m perfectly OK with it.
READ MORE: Soppe’s Week 16 Fantasy Football Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em: Analysis for Every Player in Every Game
Juwan Johnson, TE
If you play in a tight end premium league, I could see being at least moderately intrigued with Juwan Johnson.
He’s caught all eight of his targets in December, and Tyler Shough has shown some positive signs of development. This isn’t a high-octane offense, but it’s also one that is working with reserve RBs and a depleted pass-catching depth chart behind Chris Olave.
In standard leagues, no thanks. Johnson has been held under 55 receiving yards in four straight, six of seven, and 11 of his past 13 games. He hasn’t had an end zone target since September, and even in a good matchup this weekend, I’m not sold that the Saints are a threat to score more than two touchdowns.
The efficiency of a young signal caller can be effective in a very specific format. Still, in large, I’d rather go down swinging with a low-used player on an offense with more juice (i.e., Mike Gesicki or Brenton Strange if we are talking about the names on waiver wires in most leagues).
