Team Previews - New Orleans Saints
Projected Starting Lineup
QB: Drew Brees RB: Alvin Kamara / Mark Ingram WR: Michael Thomas WR: Ted Ginn WR: Cameron Meredith / Tre'Quan Smith TE: Ben Watson
LT: Terron Armstead LG: Andrus Peat C: Max Unger RG: Larry Warford RT: Ryan Ramczyk
Saints Offensive Profile Under Sean Payton 2014-2017 Pass Attempts Rank: 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 19th 2014-2017 Rush Attempts Rank: 19th, 20th, 19th, 13th 2014-2017 Play Volume Rank: 3rd, 4th, 1st, 19th 2014-2017 Yards Per Play Rank: 5th, 4th, 3rd, 1st Unaccounted for Air Yards from 2017 (Rank): 689 (26th) Unaccounted for Carries from 2017 (Rank): 87.5 (19th)
Sean Payton's average offensive production as an Offensive Coordinator in the NFL. (11 Seasons)
Passing: ATT COMP PCT YDS AVG YDS/G LONG TD TD% INT INT% SACK YDSL RATE
638 436 68.5 4921 7.7 273 76 35 5.4 15 2.35 25 170 100
Rushing: ATT YDS AVG LONG 20+ TD YDS/G FUM FUML 1DN
405 1722 4.2 54 10 15 109 4.6 3 98
Receiving: REC TAR YDS AVG TD LONG 20+ YDS/G FUM FUML YAC 1DN
433 632 4908 11.4 35 76 62 311 5 3 2213 243
Quarterback- Drew Brees' is coming off of a "Disappointing" season according to some fantasy football analyst. My take is that Brees' is coming off of one of his most efficient years in his 17 seasons. He threw for 4,334 yards with an average target of 8.09, while completing 72% of his passes! The reason for fantasy bitterness was the 23 touchdown passes which is well below his average of 32. The Saints have the best rushing duo in the NFL with explosive ROY Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram, who will unfortunately have to sit for the first four games of the season. They also upgraded the passing attack as they get back one of the premier young receivers in Michael Thomas while adding Cameron Meredith and rookie Tre'Quan Smith. With an upgraded receiving corp and Ingram's suspension for the first four games, Brees passing totals should rise this season especially those touchdowns. I would love to grab Brees in round 8 or 9 of your draft and think he is a sure fire top-6 QB this season.
Wide Receiver-
Michael Thomas leads an extremely efficient passing attack in New Orleans, as the third year receiver is coming off back to back top-ten WR1 finishes. Thomas laughed at the sophomore slump as he caught 104 of his 149 targets for 1,245 yards and 5 touchdowns. His touchdown regression was truly unlucky as he had two touchdowns reversed and ruled down at the one while three other times he was tackled inside the two. With a career catch rate of 72.3%, Thomas is the most efficient receiver in the league. I absolutely love his ability and coaching staff which always puts him in a position to win as they also target him 40.5% of the time in the slot. I currently have Thomas ranked behind Brown, Hopkins, Beckham, Jones this season and expect him to continue his upward trend as he becomes a dominant receiver.
Cameron Meredith broke out in his second season catching 66 of his 96 targets (68.7%) for 888 yards (13.5 Avg) and 4 touchdowns. I loved him as a breakout last year, unfortunately he tore his ACL in the third pre-season game. At 6'3/207 Meredith provides Brees with another excellent red-zone target, who will provide as a great second option not allowing teams to double Thomas on a regular basis. He can be lined up all over the field as he ran 40% of his routes in the slot in 2016 and has excellent speed, 4.49 allowing him to get vertical as well. I think Meredith has one of the highest upsides in this fantasy football draft and have taken him in almost every draft that I have had. The only concern is that his knee is not yet completely healed which might not allow him to get a full workload in this fantastic offense. Other pass-catchers that could provide a fantasy football spark will be the speedster Ted Ginn Jr and rookie Tre'Quan Smith. We will start with the veteran who can really only be counted on in best ball leagues. Ted Ginn Jr is an excellent deep-threat, but he simply does not have an expanded enough route-tree to be involved as anything more than a WR4 in your leagues. The sensational rookie Tre'Quan Smith is someone who I just can't get enough of. His upside is fantastic at 6'2/210 pounds the Saints took Smith 91st overall. He is a home-run player with great speed at 4.49 who caught 70% of targets over 20 yards. He finished his Junior season with 59 catches for 1,171 yards (19.8) average and 13 touchdowns. He has been making plays all camp long and is someone I want to monitor incase Meredith's knee is not quite ready for a full workload. He could be one of the steals of your draft and is someone I want to take with my last pick in all drafts. Tight End-
The fossil Ben Watson returns to the New Orleans Saints. After spending one year with the Ravens in which he was still somewhat productive 61-522-4, the 37 year-old comes back to the Saints where he caught 74-825-6 in 2015. The Saints love throwing the ball down the middle of the field and need someone to work the seam in this offense, they're hoping Watson will be that guy. While I have 12-14 other tight ends ahead of him, he still plays in a fantastic offense that loves targeting tight ends, if I need an injury fix or bye week fill-in, Watson will be my guy. Running Back-
The rookie sensation Alvin Kamara will be the featured back in New Orleans for the first four games of the season. With Mark Ingram suspended for the first four games, we should see Kamara's volume rise from the 12.5 touches a game he had last season. Things looked to be heading this way anyway, as Kamara out-touched Ingram the final five games of the season and the playoffs. The most important part of this, Kamara lead seven to one inside the ten-yard line during that same span. Kamara put up Madden like numbers rushing 120 times for 728 yards and 8 touchdowns while adding 81 catches for 826 yards and 5 more scores in the passing game. He is the best all purpose weapon in the NFL and with another year in the NFL he is only scratching the surface of his potential. He should reach roughly 200 carries this season while still gobbling up over 80 passes. I currently have Kamara as RB#4, as he currently is only sitting behind Gurley, Johnson and Elliott on my running back board with the Bell news.
From one honest program to one filled with PED violations. The former Crimson Tide running back was hit with a four game suspension for performance enhancing drugs. Ingram has put together back to back solid seasons for the saints as he rushed for 1,124 yards (4.9 avg) and 12 touchdowns while adding 58 receptions for 416 yards last season. While Kamara has taken over as the lead back, they will want to preserve him for their playoff run which means Ingram should get plenty of work when he returns. I love the idea of adding Ingram in the 5th round of your draft as he can be a fantasy winning type play with the production that he can provide you the last 12 games of the season. 2018 Vegas Win Total The Saints’ Win Total opened at 9.5 after last year’s 11-5 finish. This team is loaded with talent as they had one of the best drafts that I can remember last season adding Lattimore, Kamara Ramczyk, Williams, Anzalone. They also have a Super Bowl MVP elite quarterback that can carry you anytime the running game stalls out. I currently have a ticket on them to win the Super Bowl at 20-1 and suggest you to grab one as well. This team is a couple of quality pass rushers away from winning it all, which they went out and selected in this years draft. They do play in one of the toughest divisions in the NFL while facing a very difficult schedule week 7-17 @Bal, @Min, LAR, @Cin, Phi, Atl, @Dal, @TB, @Car, Pitt, Car. I believe this team still wins the division and makes a run for the Super Bowl.
