The New Orleans Saints will face the Atlanta Falcons in Week 10. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding RB Alvin Kamara.
Is Alvin Kamara Playing in Week 10?
Alvin Kamara has been carrying an enormous burden for a challenged New Orleans Saints offense this season. Thus, it’s no surprise that the veteran running back has been a regular on the injury report this year with a litany of small ailments.
Ahead of Week 10, Kamara was a full participant on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday while dealing with a hand injury. The good news is that he shed the rib injury that had accompanied the hand on the practice report the past two weeks.
Kamara has had a workhorse season, taking 58% of the carries for the Saints in 2024. That’s the fifth-highest share of any player this season. The Atlanta Falcons have been stronger than you might expect against running backs, allowing the eighth-fewest PPR points per game. But Kamara is a must-start regardless.
We’ll continue to monitor the Saints’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Start or Sit Alvin Kamara in Week 10?
Alvin Kamara picked up 20 yards on New Orleans’ first offensive play last week and now has four top-10 finishes this season. The Saints came up short in the first meeting with the Falcons, but it wasn’t due to a lack of getting Kamara involved (26 touches for 119 yards and a touchdown).
I’ll never project that level of usage for a back, but it’s fair to say that Kamara will be one of the league leaders in total touches this week; that makes him a starter in all formats, even if you share the efficiency concerns that I have.
A running back has carried the rock 10+ times while seeing 8+ targets in consecutive games just three times this season:
- Alvin Kamara (Weeks 4-6)
- De’Von Achane (Weeks 8-9)
- Alvin Kamara (Weeks 8-9)
The Saints are running out of options and Kamara is the type of talent that will turn volume into fantasy production, even if it’s by way of checkdowns in bulk.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 10 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Alvin Kamara’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 10
As of Sunday, Kamara is projected to score 20.9 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 18.7 rushing attempts for 74.8 yards and 0.4 touchdowns. It also includes 5.4 receptions for 41.8 yards and 0.2 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
PFN Insight on the Falcons’ Defense
Just maybe there is a hint of something positive for the Atlanta Falcons’ defense. They have been inside the top 20 in three of their last four games, but we are still only talking about rankings of 18, 19, and 15. Additionally, those have come against the Panthers, Seahawks, and Cowboys, who are hardly dominant offenses to have restricted.
Atlanta has struggled against the run and has only been slightly better against the pass. They have also struggled to get off the field on third down, with an underwhelming pass rush being a big part of the problem. With this defense, it is hard to view them as secure in the NFC South despite a relatively commanding lead of 2.5 games entering Week 10.
Do you want more insight on all other defensive units across the NFL? Head over to our PFN Defense+ Rankings for analysis on all 32 teams.
Alvin Kamara’s Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 11:45 PM ET on Saturday, January 25.
Conference Championship RB PPR Rankings
1) Saquon Barkley | PHI (vs. WAS)
2) James Cook | BUF (at KC)
3) Brian Robinson Jr. | WAS (at PHI)
4) Isiah Pacheco | KC (vs. BUF)
5) Kareem Hunt | KC (vs. BUF)
6) Austin Ekeler | WAS (at PHI)
7) Ray Davis | BUF (at KC)
8) Ty Johnson | BUF (at KC)
9) Samaje Perine | KC (vs. BUF)
10) Kenneth Gainwell | PHI (vs. WAS)
11) Jeremy McNichols | WAS (at PHI)
12) Will Shipley | PHI (vs. WAS)
13) Carson Steele | KC (vs. BUF)
14) Reggie Gilliam | BUF (at KC)
15) Chris Rodriguez Jr. | WAS (at PHI)
Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints Insights
Atlanta Falcons
Team: The Falcons are averaging 13.8 plays per game of 10-plus yards, sixth most in the league and up 11% from a season ago.
QB: Football can be such a complicated game, but it can also be remarkably simple. Over his past two games, when Kirk Cousins has stayed in the pocket, he’s been as good as anyone in the league: 42-53 for 498 yards, seven touchdowns, and zero interceptions (145.4 passer rating).
Offense: Despite having a strong running game, no team runs play-action nearly as rarely as the Falcons (8.3% of offensive plays, the Cowboys rank 31st at 10.6%).
Defense: The Falcons own the lowest sack rate in the league (2.7% of opponent dropbacks, league average: 7.1%).
Fantasy: Darnell Mooney, entering this season, averaged 735 receiving yards per 17 games and had a career-high of four touchdown receptions in a season – through nine weeks, he has 588 receiving yards and has caught five touchdown passes.
Betting: The Falcons are 7-3 ATS (70%) in their past 10 divisional road games (2-0 ATS this season with over tickets cashing in both of those instances).
New Orleans Saints
Team: The Saints have lost seven straight games, their longest skid of the 2000s. Three of those losses have come by a field goal or less.
QB: Derek Carr threw five touchdown passes on 39 attempts through Week 2 – he’s thrown four touchdown passes on 120 attempts since.
Offense: Since Week 3, the Saints are the sixth worst offense in the league in terms of yards per play
Defense: The Saints have the sixth lowest opponent passer rating against (80.2, league average: 91.5).
Fantasy: Three times this season has a running back carried the rock 10 times while seeing at least eight targets in consecutive games:
- Alvin Kamara (Weeks 4-6)
- De’Von Achane (Weeks 8-9)
- Alvin Kamara (Weeks 8-9)
Betting: The Saints have seen their past five home games played within the division finish more than 16 points off of the spread (each of the past three by more than 20 points).
