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 England Patriots to help you craft a winning lineup.
Spencer Rattler, QB
Props to Spencer Rattler for getting in the win column on Sunday afternoon against the Giants. He’s been battling, and it’s always good to see work like that finally pay off, but he’s nowhere near the fantasy radar, and that’s very unlikely to change.
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He deserves credit for hitting Rashid Shaheed on the 87-yard touchdown, but without that, we are looking at 30 passing attempts for 138 yards and zero scores.
This team simply doesn’t move the ball consistently enough to elevate a player like this. Rattler has completed just four of 17 end zone throws, and while there is some mobility in the 25-year-old’s profile, it’s not enough to single-handedly make him viable.
Alvin Kamara, RB
I was out on Alvin Kamara this offseason (and last offseason if we are being honest), and the pushback I got was always the same.
“Yeah, it’s not pretty, but he’s the best player on this team and offers a floor thanks to his versatility that it’ll be tough for him to outright fail.”
That’s a perfectly reasonable argument, but this Saints offense is bringing it into question.
Kamara has more fumbles lost since Week 1 than touchdowns, doesn’t have a game with 30 receiving yards this season, and doesn’t have a 25-yard rush since September … of 2021.
What makes him drastically different from Chase Edmonds?
I’m not labeling either as a must-start, and if you have a receiver with a 6-8 target projection, I wouldn’t hesitate to make that decision in flex spots (I’d rather take my chances on players like DeVonta Smith, Ladd McConkey, or DJ Moore).
Chris Olave, WR
Isn’t Chris Olave just less-expensive-Ja’Marr-Chase at this point?
He’s earned 10+ targets in four of five games, but the lack of quality on that quantity has resulted in just one top 25 finish for the season (WR19 in Week 3).
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I guess you could point to the Shaheed performance in Week 5 and sell yourself on hope, but this is a franchise that isn’t motivated to win games right now, and teams like that are tough to back in any capacity.
Despite all of the volume, his longest grab of the season is 17 yards, and without frequent trips to the red zone, how exactly does Olave beat me for ranking him outside of my top 25?
I don’t think he does, especially if we get the version of this Patriots defense that we saw on Sunday night.
For the season, as many passes thrown Olave’s way have hit the ground as Kamara has targets earned.
Let that sink in.
This is a good player, but he’s the definition of empty-calorie targets, and my lineup doesn’t have room for that profile.
Rashid Shaheed, WR
We knew a game like this was going to come. We weren’t sure when (a home game against the struggling Giants secondary made sense), but Shaheed has conditioned us to expect a game like what we got over the weekend (4-114-1) every 5-7 weeks, and we got it.
Most 40+ Yard Receiving TDs Since 2022
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Ja’marr Chase: 13
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Tyreek Hill: 11
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Shaheed: 8
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Jameson Williams: 8
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Davante Adams: 8
Fight the urge to get too excited.
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I’ve been there. I’ve believed that Shaheed’s raw talent is greater than his counting numbers up to this point in his career, and, to be honest, I stand by that take. That said, he has been unable to deliver consistent production with more roster support, so what about this situation suggests that a different result is forthcoming?
He’s 0-for-7 for his career when it comes to following up an 18+ PPR game with 9+ points, and I’m not comfortable betting on that trend coming to an end against a Patriots defense that played with plenty of confidence on Sunday night.
I find myself ranking Shaheed and Darius Slayton in the same range every week, and that’s the case again: I’ll roster this profile in a DFS GPP if I really want exposure, and that’s not the case in Week 6.
Juwan Johnson, TE
The return of Taysom Hill didn’t really take any food off of Juwan Johnson’s role plate (85.5% snap share with 26 routes run), but Rattler did.
Say what you will about New Orleans’ QB, but he knows what he likes. I think we can agree that Johnson is the fourth most talented pass catcher on this roster, and Rattler simply loaded up the three names ahead of him on Sunday to get the Saints their first win (Kamara, Olave, and Shaheed combined for 71% of the targets and 82.4% of the receiving yards).
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That’s going to happen.
We saw Josh Allen routinely go to a wide-open Dalton Kincaid against these Patriots on Sunday night (six catches on six targets for 108 yards). But I think it’s safe to say that not only does Rattler not impact defensive alignment in quite the same fashion as the reigning MVP, but the Bills also have inferior talent at the receiver position.
I think you probably get more this week than last, but that’s a low bar to clear. Johnson sits comfortably outside of my top 12 this week, but I would hold if at all possible: the Saints still have games against the Bears, Buccaneers, and Panthers before going on bye.
