The Atlanta Falcons will face the New Orleans Saints 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 WR Ray-Ray McCloud.
Is Ray-Ray McCloud Playing in Week 10?
McCloud is not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any setbacks, he is on track to play this weekend.
We’ll continue to monitor the Falcons’ 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 Ray-Ray McCloud in Week 10?
The injury to Drake London is why Ray-Ray McLoud III is on fantasy radars this week, but it’s important to remember that the receiver position is nothing like the running back position. What Jordan Mason has done in San Francisco this season is great, though it’s not all that rare. Every season, we see backup running backs do a pretty good impersonation of the player he is replacing.
It’s rare to see that among pass catchers — it’s a numbers game. Generally speaking, one running back is featured, but three receivers can be a part of the weekly game plan. That means that the receiver who gets on the field as a result of an injury is, at best, the fourth-best option on the roster, whereas the backup running back is second-best.
That’s an overly complicated way of saying that the London injury doesn’t mean that any one receiver on this team sees a massive spike in their role. McCloud hasn’t been worth your while this season despite playing over 82% of the snaps in eight straight games, and I don’t expect that to change.
If I’m blindly betting on a quarterback/offense to add value to a profile, sign me up for Rashod Bateman or Noah Brown instead.
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.
Ray-Ray McCloud’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 10
As of Sunday, McCloud is projected to score 10.6 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 4.6 receptions for 44.8 yards and 0.1 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 Saints’ Defense
When you look at the performance of the New Orleans Saints’ defense this year, it is not a major surprise that their defensive-minded head coach is gone. With the offense struggling, the team seemingly lost, and the defense having its worst performance in our six-year database, it likely made for an easy decision for the team.
The Saints’ biggest issue this year has been their run game, but they have also struggled to sustain pressure and sack the quarterback. None of the other numbers are that bad, but there is not much positive to point to either.
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.
Ray-Ray McCloud’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 WR PPR Rankings
1) A.J. Brown | PHI (vs. WAS)
2) Terry McLaurin | WAS (at PHI)
3) DeVonta Smith | PHI (vs. WAS)
4) Khalil Shakir | BUF (at KC)
5) Xavier Worthy | KC (vs. BUF)
6) Hollywood Brown | KC (vs. BUF)
7) DeAndre Hopkins | KC (vs. BUF)
8) Keon Coleman | BUF (at KC)
9) Dyami Brown | WAS (at PHI)
10) Mack Hollins | BUF (at KC)
11) Amari Cooper | BUF (at KC)
12) Curtis Samuel | BUF (at KC)
13) Olamide Zaccheaus | WAS (at PHI)
14) JuJu Smith-Schuster | KC (vs. BUF)
15) Jahan Dotson | PHI (vs. WAS)
16) Jamison Crowder | WAS (at PHI)
17) Luke McCaffrey | WAS (at PHI)
18) Justin Watson | KC (vs. BUF)
19) Johnny Wilson | PHI (vs. WAS)
20) Parris Campbell | PHI (vs. WAS)
21) Nikko Remigio | KC (vs. BUF)
22) Ainias Smith | PHI (vs. WAS)
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).
