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 Tennessee Titans to help you craft a winning lineup.
Tyler Shough, QB
Tyler Shough is tough as nails and learning on the fly.
That’s not a bad DFS profile, and his opportunity count (40+ pass-plus-rush attempts in four of his past five games) has fueled him to clear 17 fantasy points in four straight. He was once again interested in loading up Chris Olave with as much work as he could handle from the jump (four of his first seven completions went to his standout WR)
Plenty was made of his age coming out of college, but there clearly is some wisdom that has come with that experience. On Sunday, he sent Olave in motion late in the third quarter, identified single coverage, and took advantage by setting up a rub route that left him essentially uncovered for the 23-yard score.
If I’m rolling the dice on a QB with my fantasy title on the line, this is the direction I’m going. Given his advanced age for a rookie, the Saints are trying to accelerate his learning curve, which means volume with a touch of volume.
That’ll work!
It doesn’t have to be perfect to be productive. Ideally, you’re not having to piece together the QB position at this point in the year, but if you are, New Orleans holds your answer in a favorable matchup, albeit on the road.
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Alvin Kamara, RB
Alvin Kamara missed a fourth 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.
Audric Estime, RB
If the Saints wanted to feature Audric Estime in a way that would interest us, they would have made it clear on Sunday.
They did not.
First Half Rushing Data vs NYJ
- Taysom Hill: 6 carries for 21 yards (fumble lost)
- Evan Hall: 4 carries for 0 yards
- Estime: 3 carries for 10 yards
- Tyler Shough: 1 carry for 4 yards
With Devin Neal and Alvin Kamara out, it was Taysom Hill with the first carry of the game. He lost a fumble on that effort, and it didn’t matter. The offensive weapon led the team in carries and rush yards while ranked third in receptions, receiving yards, and targets.
If you want to get cute and slide Hill into your TE spot, I don’t hate it. But directly investing in this backfield is reckless behavior at this point in the season.
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Devin Neal, RB
A hamstring injury in Week 15 was not only enough for Devin Neal to exit the game after scoring a touchdown, but for him to sit over the weekend against the Jets and be placed on season-ending IR last Thursday.
What the 2026 season looks like at RB behind Alvin Kamara is anyone’s guess at this point in New Orleans, but my instinct is to approach it next August the way I did this past August: full fade.
Chris Olave, WR
Chris Olave doesn’t have the highlight plays that Jameson Williams or George Pickens have. He doesn’t play in an offensive environment that is anything close to Tee Higgins or Amon-Ra St. Brown.
Those things are true, and yet, he’s in that range of receiver this week for me, cracking my top 10 and profiling as the type that could break the slate.
Tyler Shough funneled five of his first 10 targets in the direction of his WR1, posted his fourth 20-point game of the season, and earned double-digit targets for the eighth time. The floor is remarkable with a rookie QB under center (over 11 points in 12 of 15 games), and there’s no WR competition for looks (Mason Tipton was WR2 on Sunday, and Olave had twice as many catches as he had targets).
He’s been a lineup lock all season, and I love looking this way in DFS against a defense that ranks 25th or worse in yards per pass, yards per completion, and pass touchdown rate through 16 weeks.
READ MORE: Soppe’s Week 17 Fantasy Football Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em: Playoff Edition
Juwan Johnson, TE
Juwan Johnson is a good example of when an opportunity for a teammate serves as a tide that rises all ships.
Do I think Johnson is a difference-making talent? Not really, but you could have gotten on him following the Rashid Shaheed trade and profited on the thought that the Saints are motivated to let Tyler Shough develop through volume.
Not all of his passes are on time, and a lot of them go to Chris Olave, but there isn’t much depth here, and Shough is averaging 25 completions per game over his past five. Johnson has caught 16 of 17 targets during New Orleans’ win streak, and with his cap hit spiking next season, this team is motivated to find where the rookie QB is most comfortable.
I would have never thought three months ago that I’d be shilling Johnson as an easy top-10 play in fantasy Super Bowls, but that’s where we are (seven of his eight catches last week came in the first half, another positive sign when it comes to trying to evaluate the scripted schemes).
