New Orleans Saints Fantasy Preview

2018 Stats (Rank)

Total Offense: 6,067 Yards (8th)
Offensive Touchdowns: 59 (2nd)
Offensive Plays Per Game: 63.6 (13th)
Pass Attempts + Sacks: 539 (29th)
Rush Attempts: 471 (5th)
Run/Pass Split: Run – 46% | Pass – 54%
Unaccounted for Targets: 78
Unaccounted for Carries: 159

Projected Win Total

The Saints’ over/under currently sits at 10.5, after they went 13-3 last season. It’s tough to project a team to only lose three games, so that is why we see the decrease in win total, which is still tied for the most. After adding to an already solid team, the Saints have legitimate Super Bowl aspirations.

Strength of Schedule

SOS is measured by calculating the fantasy points allowed by each team’s opponents to determine who has the easiest and most difficult fantasy schedules (rank #1 has the easiest schedule).

QB: 15th
RB: 24th
WR: 16th
TE: 20th

Passing Game

QB: Drew Brees, Teddy Bridgewater
WR: Michael Thomas, Cameron Meredith
WR: Tre’Quan Smith, Keith Kirkwood
WR: Ted Ginn, Rishard Matthews
TE: Jared Cook, Josh Hill

Many don’t realize how little the Saints passed the ball last season (total shown above). Since they are projected to be among the best teams in the league, they may not have to pass much again this season, which limits the value of this group. Drew Brees is currently being drafted as QB8, which is where he finished last season.

Michael Thomas received 28.7% of the targets last season, which he will likely replicate this year. Thomas is one of the most consistent receivers for fantasy, and he is being drafted as WR3. With Alvin Kamara also getting a big target share (20.5%), only half of the targets are left to be spread amongst the rest of the team. Tre’Quan Smith is in his second year and many are projecting him as a breakout candidate. He is the only other usable wide receiver, and he is going as WR62. Jared Cook comes over from the Raiders, after finishing as TE5 last season, but he received more targets there than the entire tight end group did in New Orleans (101 vs 89). He is being drafted as TE8.

Running Game

RB: Alvin Kamara, Latavius Murray, Javorius Allen
2018 OL Run Rank: 2nd

The thunder to Alvin Kamara‘s lightning is now in Baltimore, leaving behind 138 carries. We saw what the Saints did last season, when Ingram was suspended, and it didn’t really result in a boost for Kamara. He was less efficient as a rusher. So, while Latavius Murray isn’t exactly good at football, the Saints hope he can take over that vacant role. While Kamara’s workload isn’t expected to increase, he finished as RB4 last season, which is also his current ADP. Murray is going at RB36, while Javorious Allen is RB111. If something were to happen to Kamara, Allen would see third down work.