It has been a long time since the Super Bowl, and remembering exactly how things left off last year can be a challenge. So, I’ll be writing up a fantasy preview for each NFL team to give us a quick refresher on what happened last year, and what changes took place in the offseason. All fantasy stats will be in ESPN scoring format unless otherwise noted.
If I missed any change or left out any big notes, throw them down in the comments for me!
What Did They Do Last Year
Drew Brees retired.
Other than Brees, the New Orleans Saints are bringing back the big guys on offense, defense, and on the coaching staff.
Time will tell.
Quarterback
| OVR Rank | Player | G | COMP | ATT | YDS | TD | INT | ATT | YDS | TD | FFP | FFP/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | Drew Brees | 12 | 275 | 390 | 2,942 | 24 | 6 | 18 | -2 | 2 | 211.5 | 17.6 |
| 30 | Taysom Hill | 16 | 88 | 121 | 928 | 4 | 2 | 87 | 457 | 8 | 134.8 | 8.4 |
| 69 | Jameis Winston | 3 | 7 | 11 | 75 | 0 | 0 | 8 | -6 | 0 | 2.4 | 0.8 |
During 2019 and 2020, Drew Brees missed nine starts. Four of those starts went to Taysom Hill in 2020, five to Teddy Bridgewater in 2019. During those nine games, the Saints were 8-1, and the quarterback averaged 20.6 points per game in ESPN scoring. That average would have been the 13th best PPG for QBs in 2020.
Jameis Winston is the presumed favorite to start (PFF predicts Winston here, SB Nation writer Chris Dunnells outlining the consensus opinion here), but I believe Taysom Hill will be the starter in Week 1 for two big reasons. One, we saw what Payton did in 2020 when faced with the same options, and two, since 2015, no quarterback has thrown more interceptions than Jameis Winston and that includes 2020 when he did not start.
I doubt we’ll know much more about who is starting anytime soon, so I’m taking shots on Hill in a couple of Superflex dynasty startups.
Wide Receivers
| PPR Rank | STD Rank | Player | G | TGT | REC | YDS | TD | STD PTS | STD PTS/G | PPR PTS | PPR PTS/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 41 | 43 | Emmanuel Sanders | 14 | 82 | 61 | 726 | 5 | 103.8 | 7.4 | 164.8 | 11.77 |
| 72 | 71 | Tre'Quan Smith | 13 | 50 | 34 | 448 | 4 | 69.1 | 5.3 | 103.1 | 7.93 |
| 93 | 101 | Michael Thomas | 7 | 55 | 40 | 438 | 0 | 43.9 | 6.3 | 83.9 | 11.99 |
| 117 | 123 | Deonte Harris | 9 | 25 | 20 | 186 | 1 | 27.7 | 3.1 | 47.7 | 5.3 |
| 125 | 132 | Marquez Callaway | 6 | 27 | 21 | 213 | 0 | 21.3 | 3.6 | 42.3 | 7.05 |
| 168 | 161 | Lil'Jordan Humphrey | 2 | 5 | 3 | 46 | 1 | 10.6 | 5.3 | 13.6 | 6.8 |
| 173 | 168 | Austin Carr | 4 | 4 | 3 | 27 | 1 | 8.7 | 2.2 | 11.7 | 2.93 |
| 184 | 186 | Juwan Johnson | 5 | 10 | 4 | 39 | 0 | 3.9 | 0.8 | 7.9 | 1.58 |
| 204 | 209 | Bennie Fowler | 1 | 6 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 3.1 | 3.1 |
| 206 | 201 | Tommylee Lewis | 4 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1.9 | 0.5 | 2.9 | 0.73 |
With Brees, I spent a decade trying and failing to find who the next big No. 2 receiver for the Saints would be. And while there are plenty of exciting young fellas on the roster who could step into that role, just about the only thing we know is that Michael Thomas will be back healthy for 2021. I expect Thomas to return to as one of the most dominant wide receivers in the NFL regardless of who’s under center.
Michael Thomas is falling to the end of the second round in the way to early ADP and that is the WR8, and that is is a steal. In our staff rankings, Thomas currently is our WR10 in .5PPR.
Running Backs
| PPR Rank | STD Rank | Player | G | ATT | YDS | TD | TGT | REC | YDS | TD | STD PTS | STD PTS/G | PPR PTS | PPR PTS/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Alvin Kamara | 15 | 187 | 932 | 16 | 107 | 83 | 756 | 5 | 294.8 | 19.7 | 377.8 | 25.19 |
| 34 | 32 | Latavius Murray | 15 | 146 | 656 | 4 | 26 | 23 | 176 | 1 | 113.2 | 7.5 | 136.2 | 9.08 |
| 120 | 113 | Ty Montgomery | 4 | 19 | 101 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 27 | 0 | 12.8 | 3.2 | 15.8 | 3.95 |
| 131 | 135 | Michael Burton | 6 | 7 | 18 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 28 | 0 | 4.6 | 0.8 | 8.6 | 1.43 |
| 155 | 148 | Dwayne Washington | 2 | 8 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 0.75 |
| 156 | 150 | Tony Jones | 1 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.3 |
Alvin Kamara might be the best back in the league, but he disappeared with Hill at quarterback in 2020. His talent justifies his ADP at four overall but he’s a little too risky for me at that price. I’d rather take Travis Kelce, Nick Chubb, Aaron Jones, or even Ezekiel Elliot all of whom I feel more certain of their situation. I have Kamara ranked as my RB9 for this season, while the staff has him ranked as the RB5.
I don’t know what we know, all I know is what we don’t know.
Tight End
| PPR Rank | STD Rank | Player | G | TGT | REC | YDS | TD | STD PTS | STD PTS/G | PPR PTS | PPR PTS/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | 12 | Jared Cook | 15 | 60 | 37 | 504 | 7 | 90.4 | 6 | 127.4 | 8.49 |
| 57 | 59 | Adam Trautman | 10 | 16 | 15 | 171 | 1 | 23.1 | 2.3 | 38.1 | 3.81 |
| 77 | 77 | Josh Hill | 8 | 10 | 8 | 46 | 1 | 10.6 | 1.3 | 18.6 | 2.33 |
Nothing to see here.
Additional Notes
Warren Sharp does tremendous analyses, one analysis being his schedule work. In his forecasted win model, the Saints have the 29th easiest schedule (ie, very tough), and in his projected defensive efficiency rank, they have the 20th toughest schedule.
It will be tough sledding for whoever gets the nod at QB in 2021.
What Does It All Mean?!?! (AKA – Bold predictions)
Michael Thomas will end up on most of my teams if he keeps his end-of-the-second price tag, while I’ll miss out on Kamara at current cost.
Winston and Hill are both a shot at their current, all but free, ADP.
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Thanks to FFToday.com for hosting such great stats info!
Thanks to TheHuddle.com for their great Coaching Change Tracker