Saints Fantasy Football Preview: Chris Olave, Michael Thomas, Alvin Kamara, Juwan Johnson
The Derek Carr era is set to begin in New Orleans and he comes in the hope of bringing stability to the QB position. While he isn't himself a viable fantasy option in regular 1-QB leagues, his veteran presence and strengths seem to fit well with the personnel the Saints' offense has. Here's why:
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New Orleans Saints Fantasy Football Preview
Chris Olave, Michael Thomas Fantasy Football Outlook
In 2022, according to Next Gen Stats, Carr ranked second among all starting QBs in Aggressive Percentage at 18.9%, which is the number of passing attempts into tight coverage. He was also third in average intended air yards at 9.3, this metric shows how far the passer is throwing the ball downfield.
This season Michael Thomas enters back into the fold to play the "X" position, working the short and intermediate quadrants of the field, and training camp reports are that "Slant Boy" has been Carr's favorite target. Chris Olave was forced to move all over the field with all the injuries the Saints had to the WR positions last season. He now gets to move out wide to his natural "Z" position and utilize his strengths and ability to stretch defenses downfield. Olave was fourth in air yards among WRs with at least 75 targets in 2022. Carr and Olave should be able to connect on these downfield routes.
Alvin Kamara, Jamaal Williams, Kendre Miller Fantasy Football Outlook
The Saints' running backs for Weeks 1-3 will be the veteran Jamaal Williams and rookie Kendre Miller, holding down the fort while Alvin Kamara is suspended. Miller came back and played the most in preseason after suffering a knee sprain a few weeks back and looked good. I'm ok with any of these backs at cost, but am most interested in Miller late in Rounds 12-13 as a stash. I'm drafting a few shares of Kamara; he's coming off the board in Round 5 and when he returns he should get his full workload for a Saints team that is favored to win the NFC South and should be winning games by playing defense and running the ball. Both Kamara and Williams are 28 years old, getting up in RB years, but should still be productive.
One of the key storylines for fantasy for the Saints is that they have one of the easiest schedules in terms of opposing defenses this season. They face the softest schedule in terms of opposing defenses that are expected to be weak. They literally have double-digit favorable games on their schedule, it's going to have an impact for fantasy, especially as these running backs rack up points.
Juwan Johnson, Taysom Hill Fantasy Football Outlook
At TE, it's a bit cloudy with Juwan Johnson as a popular sleeper and Taysom Hill ranked in the top 20 by the consensus thanks to his triple-threat abilities. Foster Moreau was also signed by the Saints this offseason and 36-year-old Jimmy Graham is still trying to make a remarkable comeback. I don't have a whole lot of interest in any Saints TE in typical redraft leagues.
Saints Defense Fantasy Football Outlook
The Saints' defense is definitely draftable, they are my sixth-ranked defense and they have an amazing schedule to start the season. They have light matchups for the first six weeks of the season until they play Jacksonville, take advantage of this early season schedule to lock in the Saints' defense if you draft them.
