2025 New Orleans Saints Fantasy Preview

2025 New Orleans Saints Fantasy Preview The Saints fell to 5-12 last season, finishing last in the division for the first time since 2008. Perpetually in cap trouble and with major questions at quarterback, Kellen Moore’s first stint as an NFL head coach will have major challenges. Without much cap space, the club extended Chase Young, added S Justin Reid, and brought back WR Brandin Cooks. The Saints reinforced both sides of the ball via the draft, but enter the 2025 season with one of the oldest rosters in the league. The biggest obstacle for the Saints is at the most important position. Derek Carr’s retirement made the selection of second-round QB Tyler Shough all the more important. Shough’s 65.9 percent completion under pressure rate at Louisville showed promise, and we expect him to beat out Spencer Rattler for the starting gig. New Orleans upgraded their pass-catching group, but the Shough/Rattler pairing is unproven. Jake Haener (QB3) adds depth. Alvin Kamara, a five-time Pro Bowler, leads with 1,151 rushing yards (4.6 YPC) and 466 receiving yards. His 5.3 yards after contact and 52 forced missed tackles (top-10) anchor a run game ranked 14th (114.9 YPG). Kamara’s 70+ receptions and 1,800 all-purpose yards are key in Moore’s screen-heavy attack, and he remains a solid RB2. Kendre Miller again battled injuries and could be pushed for No. 2 duties by sixth-round Kansas rookie Devin Neal. WR Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, and Brandin Cooks form a compact but skilled trio. Olave’s 2.8 yards per route run and 13.9 yards per catch stood out, but Olave missed half the season with another concussion. Shaheed was having a breakout campaign before he tore his meniscus. Cooks, a veteran returnee, is a big upgrade over New Orleans’ other ancillary wideouts. When healthy, the receiving corps will be better, but dependent on questionable QB play. Juwan Johnson, extended for three years, leads with 378 yards and three TDs. His 1.5 yards per route run and 11.1 yards per catch thrive in 12-personnel (22% usage). He set career-best marks in targets (66), catches (50), and yards (548), putting him firmly in the TE2 conversation. Taysom Hill is coming off an ACL injury, which endangers his valuable gadget role. If Hill is healthy, he can be a real wild card in an offense that lacks a proven signal-caller. Fantasy Grade: C+ QB Shough, Tyler, NO [QB1] The Saints wisely used the 40th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft to reinforce their quarterback position. Derek Carr’s surprising retirement sets the stage for Tyler Shough to win the starting job this summer over Spencer Rattler. Shough (6-5, 219) has an excellent arm and is adept at progressing through progressions. Shough passed for 3,195 and 23 scores last year at Louisville after three seasons at Texas Tech. But Shough will be 26 and has struggled against the blitz. The rookie growing pains could be significant on a rebuilding New Orleans roster. ADVICE: The favorite to win the Saints’ starting gig, but Shough is barely on the Superflex radar. QB Rattler, Spencer, NO [QB2] There’s a decent chance that Rattler will open the season as the Saints’ starter. However, he didn’t show the ability to retain that job in an uninspiring rookie season. New Orleans looks like a bottom-5 team in the NFL, so expect the Saints to take a hot hand/revolving door approach to many positions, including QB. Rattler is little more than a Dynasty Superflex stash with a low ceiling and floor. RB Kamara, Alvin, NO [RB1] Alvin Kamara delivered another strong fantasy season in 2024, finishing as the RB8 in PPR formats despite missing two games due to a groin injury. He amassed 950 rushing yards, 543 receiving yards, and eight total touchdowns over 14 games, averaging 19.0 fantasy points per game—5th among running backs. Kamara led all backs in targets per game (6.6) and remained a top-tier receiving threat. With rookie quarterback Tyler Shough expected to lean on short passes, Kamara should continue to be a PPR machine. The Saints’ backfield additions aren’t likely to impact his workload significantly. ADVICE: Kamara finished as the RB8 last season and remains a reliable PPR option heading into 2025. RB Neal, Devin, NO [RB2] ADVICE: Neal topped 1,000 rushing yards for three straight seasons at Kansas. He has good burst and also excels as a pass-catcher. The sixth-rounder has a legit shot at unseating Kendre Miller for RB2 duties behind Alvin Kamara. RB Miller, Kendre, NO [RB3] ADVICE: A promising resumé has been torpedoed by injuries. Added competition from Devin Neal further complicates Miller’s future as Alvin Kamara’s heir apparent. WR Olave, Chris, NO [WR1] Chris Olave is a risky WR3 for 2025 fantasy football due to health and quarterback concerns. In 2024, Olave played eight games, recording 32 receptions, 400 yards, and one touchdown, averaging 5.8 PPR points per game. His 2.15 yards per route run remained efficient, but two concussions sidelined him for the season’s latter half. With Derek Carr’s retirement and unproven quarterbacks (Tyler Shough, Spencer Rattler), Olave’s outlook is murky. Despite a 25-percent target share, his injury history and quarterback uncertainty cap his upside. ADVICE: The Saints will see favorable game scripts for the passing attack, but Olave’s fantasy potential is dependent on completely unproven QBs, making him a risk/reward WR3. WR Shaheed, Rashid, NO [WR2] Shaheed was off to a blistering start, averaging 12.6 fantasy points per game before a meniscus injury ended his season in Week 6. Shaheed’s insane 50.3 percent air yards share led the NFL, and he was top-5 in ADOT (17.6) and yards per catch (17.5). Coming off a major knee injury is the first concern for Shaheed. Secondly, there is the Saints’ unsettled quarterback job, which will be led by unproven Tyler Shough or Spencer Rattler. Shaheed did enough last season to be the Saints’ No. 2 wide receiver, but he comes with noteworthy risk in his fourth pro season. ADVICE: Premier deep threat, but knee recovery and QB woes make
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Fantasy Football: Deal or No Deal Alvin Kamara The Saints’ offense has had many changes in the offseason. It started with a $150 million deal for four years in March for Derek Carr. The ball finally dropped on Alvin Kamara’s suspension (three games). That created a potential buying opportunity for him in early August as the fantasy market tries to evaluate his “new value” with Jamaal Williams and Kareen Hunt added to the backfield. Now it’s time for Fantasy Football: Deal or No Deal Alvin Kamara. First, New Orleans has the foundation of being much better at passing the ball if Michael Thomas can deliver 80% of his previous self and Chris Olave delivers on his expectations. Over the two last seasons, the Saints threw the ball only 504 and 512 times due to Jameis Winston, Trevor Siemian, Taysom Hill, and Andy Dalton starting at quarterback in the post-Drew Brees era. In addition, they played without their star wideout (Thomas) over this span. In my first run of the projections in June, I had Kamara suspended for 10 games. Once he settled his court case, I lowered his missed time to six games. The NFL decided on three weeks for his off-the-field incident. That meant Kamara was a deal in most early drafts if he stays healthy. Looking back at the Saints’ offensive profile, the running back position in New Orleans’ offense has been active for several years, especially with Brees behind center. Here’s a look at their running back production over the past three seasons: The Saints’ defense ranked in the top 10 in points and yards allowed from 2020 to 2022, leading to a more ball-controlled offense and bottom-tier ranking in pass attempts. Despite the regression, their backs still had 113, 88, and 85 catches over this span, averaging 7.46 targets per game. They caught 30, 31, and 25 % of the team’s completions over the previous three seasons. In the first run of the 2023 fantasy football projections, I didn’t see enough strength in the Saints’ other backs to support their previous value in catches. My starting point was 18% of the team’s completions (about 60 catches), well below their previous opportunity. This season, I have New Orleans throwing the ball 592 times with two active wideouts (Chris Olave and Michael Thomas). Despite the increase in pass attempts and a better overall offense, I only have the Saints’ backs catching 77 passes, which looks out of line (too low). Potentially Adding Kareem Hunt Here’s a look at the Saints’ backfield if they signed Kareem Hunt: Over the first three weeks, Williams and Hunt would see almost all of New Orleans’s running back action. Hunt assumes the Kamara slot in the offense. That points to about a third of the carries and the majority of snaps on passing downs. Williams should get the first crack at goal-line chances in the run game. Once Kamara returns, I expect him to see about 60% of the early down action and most of the chances on passing downs. Ideally, Kamara would average between three to four catches with about 15 rushing attempts. However, I feel I have him unprojected in catches, leaving more upside to his outlook. I view Kamara as a fifth-round back who is getting drafted late in the seventh round. Since his suspension, he still ranks 30th at running back in PPR formats. Kamara should be a mid-tier RB2, and I have no problem if someone drafts at the 18th running back. Over his 88 career games, he averaged 4.9 catches for 42.6 yards and 0.25 touchdowns or 10.66 fantasy points in PPR formats. Based on this alone, Kamara would have ranked 22nd in fantasy scoring in 2022. As far as Hunt, he should be a natural handcuff to Kamara while having a better career body of work than Jamaal Williams. I have enough confidence in Hunt to use him as a cheat RB2 on a WR-strong team over the first three weeks. The bottom line with the Saints’ offense is that they will be much better than in 2022 if their key offensive personnel stay healthy. The running back position should push close to 100 catches. Also, I need to address this shortfall in their projections next week. In 2016, Le’Veon Bell sat out the first three games but still helped fantasy teams win their league and overall championships. Finally, in the high-stakes market, the sharp drafters tend to focus on pass-catching backs late. Kamara should be shining brightly in PPR formats, and he almost falls into the free category in early August. Also, If you have time to prepare, make sure you mock in our Mock Draft World Championships. No better way to practice for the real thing. NEW THIS YEAR: FullTime Members get 5 Free On-Demand Mock Drafts in our contest! Head to MockDraftNow.com and enter your REDEMPTION CODE you received by email. How it Works: First, draft your team using our On-Demand Simulator. 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2023 New Orleans Saints Outlook

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