The New Orleans Saints will face the Washington Commanders in Week 15. We have fantasy football start-sit advice for every fantasy-relevant player for the Saints so you can make the best decisions for your lineups.
Looking for more lineup advice? Head over to our Week 15 Fantasy Start-Sit Cheat Sheet, where we cover every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Derek Carr, QB
Derek Carr (broken left hand) has officially been listed as “week-to-week” by the Saints, but his season appears to be over and I think we can operate under that assumption with New Orleans effectively being a game away from playoff elimination.
Carr still has two years remaining on his deal (though the team does have an out available to them this summer), making it important to note that, assuming his 2024 is over, he will have posted a triple-digit deep passer rating for the sixth time in his career.
He doesn’t get the love he should for his touch on the long pass and that will likely be reflected when I am higher than you on Chris Olave this summer.
Jake Haener, QB
The Saints announced on Friday that Jake Haener will take over for Derek Carr this week, meaning he will lead this mash unit. Is the Washington matchup a positive one? It is, but we have no proof that Haener will be able to do so, especially when you consider the lack of firepower he has at his disposal.
We don’t have much in the way of professional data on Haener, though his ability to take the layup throws is something he has struggled with up to this point. On 20 career short attempts, the pride of Fresno State has completed just nine passes for 75 yards with zero scores.
That means he’s completing 45% of such attempts while averaging 3.8 yards per attempt for his career. For reference, the NFL averages are 73.4% and 5.6. The samples are too small to make sweeping assumptions, but they are also too negative to be even remotely interested in.
Alvin Kamara, RB
Kendre Miller cashed in an eight-yard touchdown last week after Alvin Kamara put this offense in a position to score; while that was annoying, I don’t think there’s much to read into.
Kamara has at least 16 carries and four catches in five straight games. The efficiency has been predictably underwhelming, and he hasn’t scored since mid-October, but he continues to volume his way to viability.
Life would be simpler if Derek Car was still under center, but I don’t think the overall structure of this offense is set to change in a major way, if for no other reason than they don’t have many other options. If their ranking of sixth in pass rate over expectation regresses, Kamara’s value declines but not enough for an actionable change on your end.
Kamara has played a big part in getting your team to this point, and I think you’re riding it out with him against the sixth-worst run defense in terms of success rate.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling, WR
Marquez Valdes-Scantling is essentially a full-time player for the banged-up Saints. However, with Derek Carr sidelined, I can’t imagine going in this direction with any level of confidence.
The recent production spike has been profitable, but MVS’ season on-field target share (14.5%) is in line with the expectations he’s laid out for his career (14.4%). And with the quality of targets set to decline in a major way, there’s no reason to elevate this profile simply based on a matchup with the worst deep-ball defense in the NFL (13.3% touchdown rate).
I’m not ending my fantasy season because I started a low-target option that is playing with a below-average backup quarterback.
Juwan Johnson, TE
Juwan Johnson had a 30-yard completion in the first quarter last week and was later left uncovered for an 11-yard touchdown. No one is going to fill the void left by Taysom Hill and the injury to Derek Carr further complicates this situation, but without reliable options, Johnson’s 63 games of NFL experience make him a good bet to, at the very least, see consistent usage.
Johnson has scored on 9% of his career targets, a role that seems not only safe (three straight games with a red-zone reception) but valuable this week against the fourth-worst red-zone defense in the NFL. New Orleans’ tight end checks behind Hunter Henry and Zach Ertz – though he is on that tier and a viable streaming option in deeper formats or a reasonable DFS punt play.
