The New Orleans Saints will face the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 8. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding WR Chris Olave.
Is Chris Olave Playing In Week 8?
After missing Week 7 with a concussion, New Orleans Saints wide receiver Chris Olave does not have an injury designation for Week 8. He is ready to play against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.
Olave did not practice before the Saints’ Week 7 Thursday night game after suffering a concussion just four days earlier.
This week, Olave was limited in practice on Wednesday before getting in a full practice on Thursday. He’s exited the league’s concussion protocol and will resume his role as the Saints’ WR1.
Olave’s fantasy value will be limited as long as Carr (oblique) remains out. But with Rashid Shaheed (meniscus) out for the season, there should be plenty of targets headed Olave’s way when he returns.
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 Chris Olave in Week 8?
After exiting Week 6 with a concussion, it wasn’t a surprise that Olave, who has now missed time in all three of his professional seasons, sat out Thursday night’s loss to Denver. New Orleans’ WR1 had a nice stretch of production (WR12 in Weeks 2-4) bookended by a pair of finishes outside of the top 75 at the position, making him a frustrating player for fantasy managers who drafted him with dreams of consistency this summer.
We learned last week that Rashid Shaheed’s (knee) season is over, and while that might initially increase the optimism moving forward for Olave managers, I’d be careful.
In two of Olave’s three viable games this season, Shaheed earned a target on 28.8% of his routes, catching 12 of 15 passes for 179 yards in the process. Shaheed had established himself as a legitimate WR2 in the NFL, and with the league respecting his development, Olave was in a position to thrive (in those two highlighted games, he averaged 3.43 yards per route and saw a 32.7% target share).
Shaheed’s growth was additive to Olave’s profile. now that we are without it, I fear that Olave’s path to returning value on his ADP is cloudy at best.
You’ll need to keep tabs on his progression through concussion protocol this week, but one week is reasonably standard in terms of time missed, making me comfortable slotting Olave into lineups and pivoting if need be.
This is a tough matchup in what profiles as a low-possession game, no matter who is under center for the Saints. I think the production floor is still reasonable, but the ceiling doesn’t project as friendly as it did a few weeks ago, and that’s enough to keep Olave out of my DFS player pool.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 8 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Chris Olave’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 8
Olave is projected to score 14.1 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 5.3 receptions for 70.5 yards and 0.3 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
Chris Olave’s Week 8 Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 6:00 AM ET on Thursday, January 2. If you're in a Superflex league, make sure you check out our Weekly Consensus Superflex Rankings.
Week 18 WR PPR Rankings
1) Ja'Marr Chase | CIN (at PIT)
2) Amon-Ra St. Brown | DET (vs. MIN)
3) Justin Jefferson | MIN (at DET)
4) Mike Evans | TB (vs. NO)
5) Puka Nacua | LAR (vs. SEA)
6) Brian Thomas Jr. | JAX (at IND)
7) Ladd McConkey | LAC (at LV)
8) Drake London | ATL (vs. CAR)
9) Terry McLaurin | WAS (at DAL)
10) Jaxon Smith-Njigba | SEA (at LAR)
11) Malik Nabers | NYG (at PHI)
12) Tee Higgins | CIN (at PIT)
13) George Pickens | PIT (vs. CIN)
14) Davante Adams | NYJ (vs. MIA)
15) Courtland Sutton | DEN (vs. KC)
16) Jauan Jennings | SF (at ARI)
17) Jordan Addison | MIN (at DET)
18) Tyreek Hill | MIA (at NYJ)
19) DJ Moore | CHI (at GB)
20) Nico Collins | HOU (at TEN)
21) Zay Flowers | BAL (vs. CLE)
22) Jameson Williams | DET (vs. MIN)
23) Garrett Wilson | NYJ (vs. MIA)
24) Jaylen Waddle | MIA (at NYJ)
25) DK Metcalf | SEA (at LAR)
26) Deebo Samuel Sr. | SF (at ARI)
27) Jalen McMillan | TB (vs. NO)
28) Adam Thielen | CAR (at ATL)
29) Calvin Ridley | TEN (vs. HOU)
30) Keenan Allen | CHI (at GB)
31) Jakobi Meyers | LV (vs. LAC)
32) Jayden Reed | GB (vs. CHI)
33) Cooper Kupp | LAR (vs. SEA)
34) Josh Downs | IND (vs. JAX)
35) Marvin Harrison Jr. | ARI (vs. SF)
36) Michael Pittman Jr. | IND (vs. JAX)
37) Quentin Johnston | LAC (at LV)
38) Darnell Mooney | ATL (vs. CAR)
39) Romeo Doubs | GB (vs. CHI)
40) Khalil Shakir | BUF (at NE)
41) Jerry Jeudy | CLE (at BAL)
42) Rome Odunze | CHI (at GB)
43) Rashod Bateman | BAL (vs. CLE)
44) DeMario Douglas | NE (vs. BUF)
45) Wan'Dale Robinson | NYG (at PHI)
46) Dontayvion Wicks | GB (vs. CHI)
47) Olamide Zaccheaus | WAS (at DAL)
48) Jalen Coker | CAR (at ATL)
49) Xavier Worthy | KC (at DEN)
50) Nick Westbrook-Ikhine | TEN (vs. HOU)
51) DeAndre Hopkins | KC (at DEN)
52) Hollywood Brown | KC (at DEN)
53) Brandin Cooks | DAL (vs. WAS)
54) Marvin Mims Jr. | DEN (vs. KC)
55) Parker Washington | JAX (at IND)
56) Amari Cooper | BUF (at NE)
57) Kayshon Boutte | NE (vs. BUF)
58) Tim Patrick | DET (vs. MIN)
59) Joshua Palmer | LAC (at LV)
60) Ray-Ray McCloud III | ATL (vs. CAR)
61) Andrei Iosivas | CIN (at PIT)
62) Devaughn Vele | DEN (vs. KC)
63) Marquez Valdes-Scantling | BUF (at NE)
64) Jalen Tolbert | DAL (vs. WAS)
65) Ricky Pearsall | SF (at ARI)
66) Calvin Austin III | PIT (vs. CIN)
67) Michael Wilson | ARI (vs. SF)
68) Keon Coleman | BUF (at NE)
69) Tre Tucker | LV (vs. LAC)
70) Jalen Nailor | MIN (at DET)
71) Jamison Crowder | WAS (at DAL)
72) Elijah Moore | CLE (at BAL)
73) Xavier Legette | CAR (at ATL)
74) Kendrick Bourne | NE (vs. BUF)
75) KaVontae Turpin | DAL (vs. WAS)
76) David Moore | CAR (at ATL)
77) Adonai Mitchell | IND (vs. JAX)
78) Mike Williams | PIT (vs. CIN)
79) Demarcus Robinson | LAR (vs. SEA)
80) Malik Washington | MIA (at NYJ)
81) Allen Lazard | NYJ (vs. MIA)
82) Alec Pierce | IND (vs. JAX)
83) Tyler Lockett | SEA (at LAR)
84) John Metchie III | HOU (at TEN)
85) Robert Woods | HOU (at TEN)
86) Darius Slayton | NYG (at PHI)
87) Van Jefferson | PIT (vs. CIN)
88) Troy Franklin | DEN (vs. KC)
89) Mack Hollins | BUF (at NE)
90) Tyler Boyd | TEN (vs. HOU)
91) Luke McCaffrey | WAS (at DAL)
92) Tutu Atwell | LAR (vs. SEA)
93) Kevin Austin Jr. | NO (at TB)
94) Dante Pettis | CHI (at GB)
95) Xavier Hutchinson | HOU (at TEN)
96) Ryan Miller | TB (vs. NO)
97) Greg Dortch | ARI (vs. SF)
98) DJ Chark | LAC (at LV)
99) Lil'Jordan Humphrey | DEN (vs. KC)
100) Michael Woods II | CLE (at BAL)
101) Cedrick Wilson Jr. | NO (at TB)
102) JuJu Smith-Schuster | KC (at DEN)
103) Devin Duvernay | JAX (at IND)
104) Justin Watson | KC (at DEN)
105) Tylan Wallace | BAL (vs. CLE)
106) Jahan Dotson | PHI (vs. NYG)
107) Josh Reynolds | DEN (vs. KC)
108) Ryan Flournoy | DAL (vs. WAS)
109) Trey Palmer | TB (vs. NO)
110) A.J. Brown | PHI (vs. NYG)
111) DeVonta Smith | PHI (vs. NYG)
New Orleans Saints at Los Angeles Chargers Insights
New Orleans Saints
Team: The Saints have lost five straight since starting 2-0. They’re the first team since the 2015 Dallas Cowboys to lose at least five in a row after starting 2-0 (that Cowboys team fell to 2-7 after starting QB Tony Romo was injured in Week 2).
Team: The Saints have won the past 11 games played in Week 8, out-scoring opponents 361-227 (+12.2 PPG) during that run.
QB: In the first two weeks of this season, Derek Carr completed 61.5% of his deep passes with a 113.0 passer rating on such passes. His numbers since (45.4 passer rating and 35% complete) look more like Spencer Rattler than an MVP candidate.
Offense: All the passing game injuries have also killed the running game. Since Week 3, the Saints are averaging 3.1 yards per carry on running back carries, second-worst in the NFL. That includes the third-fewest yards before contact per carry (2.2).
Defense: The Saints have allowed 502 rush yards in the last two games, their most in a two-game span since 1980. For the first time since 2012, New Orleans has given up 200+ rush yards in consecutive games; the last team to allow 200+ rush yards in three straight games was the 2019 Jacksonville Jaguars.
Fantasy: Alvin Kamara has not had a 10-plus-yard carry in three straight games, and over his past four, despite having a pair of rushing touchdowns, the majority (56.9%) of his fantasy points have come as a receiver.
Betting: The Saints have seen 13 of their past 14 games played on extended rest go under the projected total (most recently, Week 5 at Chiefs, a 26-13 loss with a 43.5-point closing total).
Los Angeles Chargers
Team: The average NFL game this season has seen 44.8 points scored – not a single Chargers game has reached 40 points yet.
QB: On Monday night, Justin Herbert became the first QB since Ryan Tannehill (Week 2, 2021) to throw for 345 yards without a touchdown or interception.
Offense: JK Dobbins was the story of the first two weeks this season (27 carries for 266 yards, 9.9 yards per carry), but he has failed to average even 4.0 yards per carry in the four games since, checking in under 3.0 in three of those games.
Defense: Los Angeles allows a score on just 25% of drives this season, the lowest rate in the league and 13 percentage points better than the league average.
Fantasy: The Chargers are amongst the most run-centric offenses, and on Monday night, when they took to the air, the early passes weren’t exactly going to the players on fantasy rosters – Will Dissly and Simi Fehoko saw eight of Justin Herbert’s first 10 targets.
Betting: Seven of Justin Herbert’s last eight home starts have finished under the total, including each of the past four.