Winston unlikely to play Sunday
By Jared Smola |
Updated on Thu, 13 Jul 2023, 2:27 PM EDT
Saints QB Jameis Winston is doubtful for Sunday's game against the Vikings in London because of back and ankle injuries that have kept him out of practice this week. That will leave Andy Dalton as the starter. Dalton's career completion rate (62.2%) stands just 0.9 percentage points higher than Winston's, so we're not ready to project a boost in catch rate for Saints skill players. Dalton's shorter career average depth of target, though (8.6 vs. Winston's 10.8) could alter the offensive approach. Dalton's style could help the target shares of RB Alvin Kamara and WR Jarvis Landry in particular. We're still betting on WR Michael Thomas' absence affecting the pass-catchers' outlooks more than the QB switch, though. Missing Winston also could mean a few more Taysom Hill snaps behind center. He carries some upside if you're reaching deep for a TE. But we wouldn't play Hill over anyone from David Njoku up in this week's TE rankings.