Thursday Night Football Preview: Week 7 Only in a season as cruel as 2024 would we have to sit through…Bo Nix vs. Spencer Rattler. No, seriously. We have to pay for it and everything. Lamentably, duty calls and even bad […]
Thursday Night Football Preview: Week 7
Only in a season as cruel as 2024 would we have to sit through…Bo Nix vs. Spencer Rattler. No, seriously. We have to pay for it and everything. Lamentably, duty calls and even bad football is still football. The FullTime Fantasy Thursday Night Football Preview: Week 7 breaks down all the fantasy-relevant players in this Denver Broncos at New Orleans Saints matchup.
Losers of four straight, the New Orleans Saints are reeling. The team that started 2-0 and outscored their opponents 91-29 is barely represented on the field in Week 7. The Saints are missing their quarterback, both wideouts and have other injury concerns.
Meanwhile, the Broncos seem fortunate to be 3-3 with their offensive struggles. Denver started 0-2 before rattling off three straight wins against the Buccaneers, Jets, and Raiders. However, things fell back to earth last week with a poor showing against the Chargers.
Unsurprisingly, the Saints opened as 4-point favorites. However, we’ve seen a massive shift as the Broncos are now 2.5-point favorites.
The opening line has also seen a precipitous dip, falling a full four points from his opening total of 41.5 points.
Matchup
TEAM
OFFENSE
PASS
RUSH
YDS/PLAY
POINTS
Denver Broncos
29
26
18
28
22
New Orleans Saints
18
17
12
18
4
Seeing the Saints rank competently in offense is a bit of a surprise. However, most of that production came in the season’s first two weeks when the Saints were rolling. Since then, injuries and fading quarterback play have tanked the Saints’ attack.
Additionally, the New Orleans defense has struggled. The Saints have lost four straight games to drop to 2-4. And the injury woes that decimated the Saints’ offense have also taken a toll on the defense. New Orleans ranks 30th against the pass and next to last in surrendering yards per play.
Conversely, the Denver offense has been one of the worst units in football all season. This was not expected starting a rookie quarterback who rarely pushed the ball downfield in college. Only four teams are averaging fewer yards per play than Sean Payton’s Broncos.
Things have been much better for Denver on the other side of the ball. The Broncos’ defense ranks sixth overall and versus the pass. This is a formidable unit that will make it hard for the Saints to mount much offense in Spencer Rattler’s second start in four days.
Denver Offense …
How will Thursday’s Broncos vs. Saints game go?
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2024 New Orleans Saints Fantasy Preview The 2023 Saints were top-10 in points scored and allowed but came up just short of the NFC playoffs at 9-8. In his third season at the helm, Dennis Allen will need to get […]
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Thursday Night Football Preview: Week 16 Following last week’s blowout between two sub-.500 teams, Week 16 offers a pairing of NFC playoff contenders. The Rams and Saints enter this game at 7-7 and in the thick of the playoff picture. […]
Thursday Night Football Preview: Week 16
Following last week’s blowout between two sub-.500 teams, Week 16 offers a pairing of NFC playoff contenders. The Rams and Saints enter this game at 7-7 and in the thick of the playoff picture. FullTime Fantasy’s Thursday Night Football Preview: Week 16 breaks down what is a must-win game for both teams.
The visiting Saints have won two straight and are tied for the NFC South lead. At +42, New Orleans has the fourth-best points differential in the conference. However, they must contend with traveling on a short week to face an LA squad that has won three consecutive games at home.
Additionally, Los Angeles has averaged 33 points per game in their last four. This Rams offense is now healthy and will pose problems for a New Orleans defense that has struggled when facing teams that are capable of moving the ball up and down the field.
The game opened with the Rams being favored by 4.5 points with a total of 44.5.
Matchup
TEAM
OFFENSE
PASS
RUSH
YDS/PLAY
POINTS
New Orleans Saints
14
14
19
18
12
Los Angeles Rams
8
11
11
7
9
On paper, these two teams are more evenly matched than it seems. However, the Saints have an edge defensively. At least they did until recently. The Saints pass rush has slowed and the team has dipped to 24th in run defense.
Meanwhile, the Rams have had issues defending the run. However, the return of Kryen Williams has had a significant impact on the team’s offensive resurgence. Also, in the last five games, Matthew Stafford is the overall fantasy QB5.
For this game, the Saints are looking at their own significant addition with ace No. 1 wideout Chris Olave returning after a 1-game absence.
This is the first away game for New Orleans since dropping a 24-15 game to the Falcons in Week 12. Meanwhile, the Rams have been thriving at home and have not lost to the Saints as hosts since 2009.
How will Thursday’s Saints vs. Rams game go?
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Thursday Night Football Preview: Week 7 Last week’s Thursday Night game was a disappointment. With just 27 points scored, the Chiefs/Broncos snooze fest set the template for UNDERS going 11-3 in Week 7. Consequently, Week 7 opens with an intra-conference […]
Thursday Night Football Preview: Week 7
Last week’s Thursday Night game was a disappointment. With just 27 points scored, the Chiefs/Broncos snooze fest set the template for UNDERS going 11-3 in Week 7. Consequently, Week 7 opens with an intra-conference battle that opened at a lowly 42.5 and dropped. The FullTime FantasyThursday Night Football Preview: Week 7 breaks down the Saints/Jaguars game from a fantasy, DFS, and sports betting lens.
Doug Pederson’s Jaguars have won three straight after an embarrassing home loss to the Houston Texans. That included a pair of victories in London. Jacksonville is 2-0 on the road. However, few teams have as strong of a home-field advantage as the New Orleans Saints.
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Speaking of the Saints, Dennis Allen’s squad is 3-3 after they too were defeated by Houston. However, that loss came on the road and was much more competitive. New Orleans has scored 20 or fewer points in five of their six games, and looking at the depressed total, it could be another low-scoring Thursday Night Football Preview: Week 7 game to handicap.
Subsequently, the Saints are mere 1-point favorites, with an implied game score of 21-19.
Matchup
TEAM
OFFENSE
PASS
RUSH
YDS/PLAY
POINTS
Jacksonville Jaguars
12
12
15
20
10
New Orleans Saints
17
15
23
26
24
Unsurprisingly, Pederson’s Jaguars squad has been better offensively. Jacksonville is averaging 23.7 points per game, which is just behind the Chiefs. The Jags also hold an edge at every skill position, making them the more fantasy-friendly roster.
However, Jacksonville’s offensive line has struggled. The Jaguars have allowed Trevor Lawrence to be sacked 16 times and face too many pressures. Lawrence has only 2.46 seconds to throw the ball, which is the second-lowest time in football. That has resulted in him ranking 26th with a -1.2 completion rate over expectation.
Meanwhile, the Saints rank 6th in total defense. Derek Carr has been serviceable under center. However, Carr has thrown only five touchdown passes and the Saints rank 24th in scoring. Carr also has the fewest rushing yards among any NFL quarterback that has started multiple games.
NFL Week 1 Titans at Saints: DFS & Fantasy Preview Betting Line: Saints – 3 Over/Under: 41.5 After making the postseason from 2019 to 2021 with a 32-17 record, Tennessee lost its offensive prowess last season (28th in points scored). […]
NFL Week 1 Titans at Saints: DFS & Fantasy Preview
Betting Line: Saints – 3
Over/Under: 41.5
After making the postseason from 2019 to 2021 with a 32-17 record, Tennessee lost its offensive prowess last season (28th in points scored). The Titans have a better foundation for their passing attack by signing DeAndre Hopkins. Treylon Burks and Chigoziem Okonkwo give Ryan Tannehill the tools to have a rebound in his passing stats. Derrick Henry remains a beast, and Tennessee looks to have hit on an upside back running back option (Tyjae Spears) in this year’s draft class.
New Orleans will have the best overall offense in the NFC South if Michael Thomas regains his previous form and stays healthy all season. Derek Carr has sneaky upside, thanks to Chris Olave and the potential growth by A.T. Perry. There have been positive reports about the play of Juwan Johnson in training camp. The combination of Alvin Kamara, Jamaal Williams, and Kendre Williams points to solid production on the ground.
Note: The fantasy points per $1,000 are based on the early projections for Week 1.
The above grid shows the top players excepted to contribute in Week 1 in the fantasy games. I listed each player’s salary at DraftKings and FanDuel, plus their fantasy points expected per $1,000 of salary invested. In GPP (grand prize pools) events, the goal is to find players with a chance to score four times their salary at DraftKings ($50,000 salary cap and three times at FanDuel ($60,000 salary cap).
Tennessee Titans
Ryan Tannehill
Tannehill comes off down seasons (2,536/13) while missing five games with an ankle injury. He averaged only 27.1 pass attempts.
The addition of DeAndre Hopkins gives him a trusted WR1 with change-mover ability and scoring upside.
The Titans still want to run the ball and play good defense, but teams will have success passing the ball against them. If Tennessee falls behind early, they will be forced to move the ball via the pass.
New Orleans had the second-best pass defense (3,413/7 with 48 sacks) in the league.
Treylon Burks and Chigoziem Okonkwo give Tannehill big-play threats.
I’m in the camp that this matchup could be higher scoring than expected, giving Tannehill a chance to pay off handsomely in the DFS market. He’s far from a lock, but ownership should be an edge if his ticket comes in.
Derrick Henry
Over his last 40 games, Henry averaged 129.2 yards, 1.1 touches, and 1.75 catches on 25.4 touches (21.27 FPPG in PPR formats).
His yards per carry (4.3 and 4.4) came in well below 2019 (5.1) and 2020 (5.4) due to a step back in play by his offensive line and fewer threats in the passing game.
The Titans will get Tyjae Spears involved in some way, but I don’t expect him to be a significant factor in Henry’s role in this matchup.
New Orleans had a sharp regression in their play defending the run in 2022 (4.5 yards per carry, leading to 2,218 yards and 14 touchdowns). Offenses ran the ball 28.9 times a game against them.
Henry won’t catch many balls, so he needs multiple scores of a long run to post a winning score for his salary.
DeAndre Hopkins…
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2023 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Outlook The 2023 NFL season is right around the corner and that means fantasy football drafts are underway. Before you assemble your championship dynasty, redraft, or high-stakes squad, FullTime Fantasy members will have an in-depth, player-by-player […]
2023 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Outlook
The 2023 NFL season is right around the corner and that means fantasy football drafts are underway. Before you assemble your championshipdynasty, redraft, or high-stakessquad, FullTime Fantasy memberswill have an in-depth, player-by-player preview of all 32 teams from football legend Shawn Childs.
Up next in our extensive NFL and fantasy football preview series is Shawn’s deep dive into the 2023 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Outlook.
— Quarterback —
Kyle Trask
The Bucs added their possible future quarterback in the second round in 2021. He brings an NFL arm with an excellent rhythm in his passes. His weakness comes in his pocket presence and reads at the line of scrimmage and in the secondary. Trask lacked the intangibles needed to start in the NFL early in his career. A couple of years of holding a clipboard behind Tom Brady should treat him well and possibly fill in the missing links to his game.
In his final year at Florida, Trask passed for 4,283 yards and 43 touchdowns with minimal value on the ground (64/50/3). He finished his college career with strength in his completion rate (67.9) and yards per pass attempt (9.1).
The Buccaneers have him 10 snaps in 2022 (3-for-9 with 23 yards).
Fantasy Outlook: I don’t expect Trask to get drafted in many formats in July and August, but he may offer QB2 value early in the year if Tampa gives him the starting job. His ceiling is unknown, while Baker Mayfield has five years of mediocrity on his resume. I’ll have Trask as the winning quarterback in this offense.
Baker Mayfield
Health clearly efforted the throwing ability of Mayfield in 2021. Despite his issues, he hasn’t been a winning quarterback (29-30) over his four seasons with Cleveland. His completion rate (61.6) came in well below his college career (68.5) while falling to be a difference-maker in touchdowns (92 over 60 games). Mayfield tossed three touchdowns or more in nine of his 59 starts – none over his late 18 games with the Browns). After 2021, Mayfield had surgery on his left shoulder in January to repair a torn labrum.
The switch to Carolina didn’t go well for Mayfield. Over his first five starts, he passed for 962 yards with four touchdowns and four interceptions with a dismal completion rate (54.9). An ankle injury in mid-October led to two missed games. The Panthers had him on the field for two more matchups (155/2 and 196/0) over the next month before releasing him.
With Matthew Stafford out for the season, the Rams gave Mayfield five starts to end the year. Unfortunately, he made minimal strides (82-for-129 for 850 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions). Mayfield gained a career-low 6.5 yards per pass attempt on the year with 31 rushes for 89 yards and one touchdown. His value in the run game (189/660/6) has been minimal in his career.
Fantasy Outlook: Tampa has two veteran wideouts (Mike Evans and Chris Godwin) with a serviceable WR3 and tight end. Their offensive line has plenty of questions, and Mayfield won’t get the ball out as quickly as Tom Brady. The Bucs will let their quarterback battle play out over the summer. Either way, I don’t see a winning fantasy play by this below-par NFL quarterback. Tampa should start its rebuilding process by giving Kyle Trask the starting gig.
Other Options: John Wolford
— Running Backs —
The Buccaneers’ offensive failure last year is highlighted by their running backs gaining only 3.7 yards per rush (4.6 in 2021 and 4.5 in 2020). Their backs gained short yards per catch (6.4, 6.4, and 6.5) in all three years, with Tom Brady behind center. In addition, Tampa’s backs scored 13 fewer touchdowns last season than in 2021 (22). On the positive side, their poor pass blocking led to Brady using his running backs more in the passing game (128/831/5) last year. They finished with 2,142 combined yards, nine touchdowns, and 128 catches (23.31 FPPG in PPR formats).
Rachaad White
After a limited role in 2020 in college (571 combined yards with six catches and eight catches on 50 touches), White flashed three-down ability (182/1,006/15 with 43 catches for 456 yards and one touchdown) the following year. He gained 5.5 yards per rush and 10.6 yards per catch.
Other than some concern with his pass protection, White brings an exciting three-down skill set. He runs with eyes up with a combination of patience and shimmy, helping him create space at the first level of defenses. When given daylight, White has enough speed to make big plays. He sells his routes well with plus hands.
In his rookie season, Tampa gave White 179 touches over 17 games, but he struggled to make big plays (3.7 yards per rush and 5.8 yards per catch). White finished with 771 combined yards with three touchdowns and 50 catches, ranking him 35th in running back scoring (142.10) in PPR leagues. From Week 10 through the first week of the postseason (9 games), he scored double-digit fantasy points in six matchups (10.50, 19.90, 17.90, 11.70, 15.30, and 11.70).
Fantasy Outlook: With Leonard Fournette no longer on the roster, White projects as the Buccaneers starting running back. On the downside, they’ll have a downgrade in quarterback and throw the ball 200 times less than in 2022 (751). I’m not a fan of Tampa’s offensive line, but he should be a better player this year. White ranked 24th in late June at the running back position in the high-stakes market. My early thought is 1,150 combined yards with four to six touchdowns and 50 catches…
WHAT CAN WE EXPECT OUT OF THE BUCCANEERS IN 2023?
To finish reading Shawn’s in-depth 2023 team outlook, with in-depth offseason reports, projections, and fantasy outlooks for all players
2023 New Orleans Saints Outlook The 2023 NFL season is right around the corner and that means fantasy football drafts are underway. Before you assemble your championship dynasty, redraft, or high-stakes squad, FullTime Fantasy members will have an in-depth, player-by-player […]
2023 New Orleans Saints Outlook
The 2023 NFL season is right around the corner and that means fantasy football drafts are underway. Before you assemble your championshipdynasty, redraft, or high-stakessquad, FullTime Fantasy memberswill have an in-depth, player-by-player preview of all 32 teams from football legend Shawn Childs.
Up next in our extensive NFL and fantasy football preview series is Shawn’s deep dive into the 2023 Carolina Panthers Outlook.
— Quarterback —
Derek Carr
In his eighth season with Las Vegas in 2021, Carr set career-highs in completions (428), pass attempts (626), and passing yards (4,804). On the downside, he finished below the league average in touchdowns (23) with a rise in interceptions (14). Carr passed for over 300 yards in seven of his 18 games (including the postseason), but he failed to throw more than two touchdowns in any matchup. Carr was the 12th highest-scoring quarterback (324.40) in four-point passing touchdown leagues despite his low-scoring ability. Before 2021 (40/108), he chipped in with some scores on the ground over the previous three seasons (24/47/1, 27/82/2, and 39/140/3).
Coming into last season, his completion rate (68.7) was a strength from 2018 to 2021. Unfortunately, the addition of Davante Adams (100/1,516/14) gave him a true WR1, but his completion rate (60.8) was the lowest since his rookie season (58.1) in 2014. In addition, Carr had a regression in yards per pass attempt (7.0 – 7.8 from 2019 to 2021). The Raiders ended up benching him over their final two matchups. He had repeated weakness in interceptions (14) and touchdowns (24). Carr passed for more than 300 yards in two games (303/2 and 307/2) while delivering three scores in only two contests. Nine of his interceptions came over his last five starts.
Fantasy Outlook: Based on the passing history of the Saints with Drew Brees behind center, Carr should throw the ball more than 600 times in 2023 while regaining his lost completion rate by throwing many passes to the running back position. WR Chris Olave (72/1,042/4) played well in his rookie season, and WR Rashid Shaheed (28/488/2) showed growth late in the year, but New Orleans still needs a second elite option in the passing game. A Michael Thomas sighting would help Carr’s passing upside. In late June, he ranked 18th at quarterback while on a path to pass for 4,300 yards and only a slight progression in touchdowns.
Other Options: Jameis Winston, Jake Haener, Taysom Hill
— Running Backs —
When reviewing the rushing data for the Saints in 2022, I need to pull out Taysom Hill’s production (96/575/7) to understand better their running back opportunity. When inputting the team stats last year, I treated Hill as a WR/TE instead of a quarterback, misrepresenting the team’s rushing profile. New Orleans’ backs gained 1,926 combined yards with nine touchdowns and 85 catches (19.51 FPPG in PPR formats). They set three-year lows in catches (85), receiving yards (650), receiving touchdowns (2), and targets (107) while accounting for 25.2% of their receiving yards.
Alvin Kamara
The lack of quarterback play hurt Kamara in two areas in 2021. He finished with a career-low 3.7 yards per carry (5.0 over his first four years) while having a sharp decline in his value in the passing game (47/439/5 – over 80 catches each season from 2017 to 2020). Despite missing four games with a knee injury, Kamara set a career-high in rushing attempts (240). He averaged 22.1 touches, besting his previous top in 2018 (18.3 per game). Kamara gained 100 combined yards in eight of his 13 starts, leading to 18.05 fantasy points per game in PPR leagues. His path projected over 17 matchups would have pushed him into the top five in running back scoring.
Last season, Kamara missed another two games with an early season rib issue. Over 15 starts, he gained 1,387 combined yards with a career-low four touchdowns and 57 catches. New Orleans gave him the ball 280 times (16.5 per game) while gaining only 4.0 yards per rush. Kamara rushed for more than 100 yards in two matchups (23/103 and 23/107). His role in the passing game was diminished over his final five contests (2/11, 2/13, 2/34, 1/7, and 1/3). He posted one impact showing (158 combined yards with two touchdowns and nine catches).
Fantasy Outlook: Kamara has a court date on July 31st regarding an off-the-field incident early in 2022. Based on his ranking in late June (32nd) and the addition of Jamaal Williams, a suspension appears looming if found guilty. I’ll defer on his outlook until his situation clears up in August.
Jamaal Williams
The Lions used Williams 179 times over his 13 games (13.8 per week) in 2021. He set a career-high in rushing yards (601) while showing weakness in yards per carry (3.9) and yards per catch (6.0). Williams missed four games with thigh, hip, and Covid-19 issues. He posted his best output in Week 1 (110 combined yards with one touchdown and eight catches). Detroit gave him three targets or fewer in 11 of his final 12 matchups while scoring less than 10.00 fantasy points in PPR leagues in nine games.
Despite a minimal uptick in yards per rush (4.1), Williams had the best rushing opportunity (262/1,066) of his career, highlighted by 17 touchdowns. His role in the passing game (12/73) was a career-low. He scored two touchdowns or more in six matchups while gaining more than 100 yards in two games (19/108/2 and 22/144/1). The Lions had him on the field for only 40.6% of their plays.
Fantasy Outlook: Williams gives the Saints veteran experience in case…
WHAT CAN WE EXPECT OUT OF THE SAINTS IN 2023?
To finish reading Shawn’s in-depth 2023 team outlook, with in-depth offseason reports, projections, and fantasy outlooks for all players
