Saints WR Michael Thomas hauled 4 of 7 targets for a team-leading 65 receiving yards in Week 5’s win vs. the Patriots. His teammate Chris Olave salvaged his 2-catch performance on Sunday was salvaged by finding the end zone but was otherwise nothing to write home about. Considering the Saints led this contest throughout and scored a defensive TD, there wasn’t a lot of offense to speak of. Week 6 vs. the Texans should be a much more competitive duel.
Saints WR Chris Olave is active for today's game vs. the Patriots. He seemed to be working through right ankle trouble in warmups but is at least healthy enough to be active. We'll look for further updates on Olave's status ahead of 1 pm ET kickoff.
Saints WR Chris Olave appeared to be dealing with a right ankle issue during warmups ahead of today's game vs. the Patriots. Here's a video from insider Nick Underhill, and another from insider Juan Kincaid. We'll see if Olave is active in a few minutes, but there appears to be elevated risk to using him in Week 5 fantasy lineups. We'll let you know if we learn more.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport confirms that Saints QB Derek Carr (shoulder) will play vs. the Patriots today. Carr remained limited in practice all week after an ugly showing in last week's loss to the Bucs. Carr is "in a better place health-wise than last week," per Rapoport. But we'd want to see him turn in a solid outing before trusting him in any fantasy lineups.
Saints QB Derek Carr (shoulder) was limited in practice all week and is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game vs. the Patriots. Carr played – but not well – through this injury last week, averaging just 3.4 yards per pass attempt. He’s not a recommended starter even in superflex leagues. The shoulder issue adds downside to all of New Orleans’ pass catchers.
Saints WR Chris Olave mustered only 1 catch for 4 yards in Sunday's loss to Tampa Bay. Derek Carr’s right shoulder injury didn’t help, although he nearly connected with Olave on a deep ball TD that arrived a bit underthrown. His 6 targets ranked third on the team behind Alvin Kamara (14) and Michael Thomas (7). Through one month, Olave’s tallied 23-306-0 on a team-high 38 targets. He’ll remain a lineup lock for Sunday’s matchup at New England.
Saints QB Derek Carr (shoulder) is now expected to start today's game vs. the Bucs, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Carr seemingly made quick progress throughout the week and had a good practice on Friday. "The coaches will need to know he can protect himself," Rapoport adds. "But there is a chance." We'll get New Orleans inactives around 11:30 am ET. Carr would obviously carry elevated risk in Week 4 fantasy lineups playing through a throwing shoulder issue.
Saints WR Chris Olave snagged 8 receptions for 104 yards in Sunday's loss to the Packers. His 11 targets made up 32.3% of the team's total pass attempts and spanned across the injury-driven QB change. He has exceeded 100 yards in two of three games (with 86 in the other) and drawn 10+ targets in each game. Olave makes for a strong weekly starter going forward, regardless of the QB situation. WR Michael Thomas was the only other Saint to top 4 targets in the game. He posted a 6-50 receiving line on 9 targets. TE Jimmy Graham caught the team's only TD, from 8 yards out. New Orleans gets a home date in Week 4 with a Tampa Bay defense that plays the run tougher than the pass. We'll see which QB starts that game.
WR Chris Olave led the Saints in targets (10), receptions (8), and yards (112) in Sunday's narrow victory over the Titans. He drew 30.3% of QB Derek Carr's pass attempts for the game. WR Michael Thomas checked in next, catching 5 of 8 targets for 61 yards. WR Rashid Shaheed delivered a 5-89-1 receiving line on 6 targets. TE Juwan Johnson (3-36 on 5 targets) was the only other Saint to garner more than 2 looks. It was a strong start for the New Orleans passing game overall, but also quite possibly the best matchup they'll face in that area all season. Tennessee was the second-best scoring matchup for WRs last season, according to our strength of schedule formula; sixth-best for QBs. The only matchup more favorable for WRs in 2022 was Carolina, which New Orleans faces in Week 2.
WR Chris Olave led the Saints in targets (10), receptions (8), and yards (112) in Sunday's narrow victory over the Titans. He drew 30.3% of QB Derek Carr's pass attempts for the game. WR Michael Thomas checked in next, catching 5 of 8 targets for 61 yards. WR Rashid Shaheed delivered a 5-89-1 receiving line on 6 targets. TE Juwan Johnson (3-36 on 5 targets) was the only other Saint to garner more than 2 looks. It was a strong start for the New Orleans passing game overall, but also quite possibly the best matchup they'll face in that area all season. Tennessee was the second-best scoring matchup for WRs last season, according to our strength of schedule formula; sixth-best for QBs. The only matchup more favorable for WRs in 2022 was Carolina, which New Orleans faces in Week 2.
Saints sideline reporter Jeff Nowak says "the Derek Carr-Chris Olave connection has been one of the highlights of camp." He adds that the QB has credited Olave with performing in ways you wouldn't normally see from a second-year wideout. Olave looks like the Saints' lead wideout after an impressive rookie season. The biggest question might be whether he can get enough target volume to support an ADP that has hovered around the Round 2-3 turn. Olave's downfield ability does give him upside beyond where he sits in our WR rankings.
Saints WR Chris Olave is a tough nut to crack regarding his 2023 outlook. Olave finished as the WR27 in PPR points per game and ranked 21st among all WRs in target share as a rookie last season, garnering 25.6% of Saints targets over his 15 games. His 2.42 yards per route also ranked seventh among 80 WRs with 50+ targets in 2022. It’s clear that Olave made the best of his team situation and can produce at a high level. The issue is, how much better can he be? New QB Derek Carr is a likely upgrade, but he isn’t a strong deep-ball passer. According to PFF, Carr’s 39.4% adjusted completion rate ranked just 24th among 36 QBs with 20+ deep attempts (20+ yards downfield) last year. Dalton ranked 34th by contrast. This is an important factor considering 23.7% of Olave’s targets last year were 20+ yard deep shots. A healthy WR Michael Thomas could also be an issue in 2023, though Olave’s target share was slightly higher over the first three weeks of last season when Thomas was healthy than it was from Week 4 on without him. We expect Olave to have a strong sophomore season, though we’re cautious. See where he stands in our current WR rankings.
Saints QB Derek Carr obviously endured a rough final season with the Raiders. He got benched for the final two games and then released after the season. Before that, though, the veteran's performance declined significantly in multiple non-obvious categories. His 60.8% completion rate was his lowest since his rookie year (2014). Carr's 7.0 yards per pass attempt was his lowest mark since 2017, despite a career high in average depth of target. He posted his worst passer rating, Pro Football Focus passing grade and adjusted completion rate since 2014. And Carr's 2.8% INT rate was the worst of his career. The Saints obviously believe he can rebound, and Carr still finished 16th among QBs in total fantasy points; 20th in points per game. He's at least probably not a downgrade for New Orleans, but Carr sits just 26th in our QB rankings and isn't boosting the fantasy outlook for Chris Olave or any other Saints receiver.
Saints WR Chris Olave missed practice on Thursday. “He wasn’t feeling good today," HC Dennis Allen said of the rising star. "He’s dealing with an inflamed Achilles (tendon). Nothing that we’re worried about.” For now, we’re not lowering his spot in the WR rankings.
QB Derek Carr and the Saints are working out a contract that could be done as soon as Monday afternoon, according to multiple reports. It's not a surprising turn for Carr, who had "lengthy" visit to New Orleans a month ago. His arrival will be good news for Saints second-year WR Chris Olave, who finished his rookie season 10th in yards per route run among all WRs with 30+ targets. WR Rashid Shaheed was among the nine players ahead of him (on far fewer targets), so that pair presents some big-play upside for Carr's stat line. That said, we can't upgrade the QB for leaving Davante Adams and Darren Waller. So the best hopes for Carr's ADP and fantasy football outlook are: 1) The Saints add more talent on offense; and 2) fantasy drafters don't boost him much from his current QB20 position. We'll see what else a cap-strapped New Orleans roster can add. And we'll see who teams such as the Jets and Panthers turn to at QB (after also courting Carr). WR Michael Thomas remains under contract with New Orleans as well. But he looks like a cut candidate that could help with the cap issues. Don't assume too strongly for now that he opens the year with the Saints.
Update: NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that Carr agreed to a four-year, $150 million deal, with $100 million in "total guarantees."
NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports that the Raiders and Saints have "the framework of a Derek Carr trade in place," which was apparently a condition in Vegas allowing the QB to visit the team. Carr possesses a no-trade clause, which likely means the deal depends on his preference after a "lengthy" visit. New Orleans would be a solid landing spot for the veteran QB, with a clear need at QB. We'd bet that such a trade would mean the end of Jameis Winston's time with the Saints. If you're drafting best-ball teams right now, then you can cheaply stack Carr with WR Chris Olave or RB Alvin Kamara -- who can be had as late as Round 5 or 6 in early fantasy football drafts.
Saints WR Rashid Shaheed led the team with 6 catches and 79 yards in Sunday's win over the Eagles. TE Juwan Johnson hauled 5 of 7 targets for 62 yards, and rookie WR Chris Olave returned with 4 receptions on 5 targets for 42 yards after missing Week 16 vs. the Browns. Shaheed's penchant for making big plays paid off once again as he's now logged 70+ receiving yards in 3 of the last 4 games. Fantasy managers playing into Week 18 will see this bunch of pass-catchers take on a Panthers defense that ranks as the 3rd-best matchup in adjusted fantasy points allowed to WRs and just got torched by QB Tom Brady and the Buccaneers in Week 17.
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