The New Orleans Saints will face the Atlanta Falcons in Week 10. 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 10 Fantasy Start-Sit Cheat Sheet, where we cover every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Derek Carr, QB
After missing three games with an oblique injury, Derek Carr returned to action only to lose his top receiver and lose to the hapless Panthers — yeah, safe to say that 2024 isn’t exactly going to script for the 33-year-old.
He threw a late touchdown last week to salvage a little bit of fantasy value, but when your path to fantasy production against the worst team in the league is to ask Foster Moreau to high-point a ball in the end zone, we are talking about a thin profile that doesn’t need your attention.
The Saints have punted on this season With Carr not set to hit free agency for another two seasons, I think we could see more Taysom Hill packages coming down the stretch this season in an effort to not put Carr in harm’s way.
Alvin Kamara, RB
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.
Bub Means, WR
Bub Means cleared 15 PPR points against the Buccaneers in Week 6 and was a speculative add for many managers looking for depth at a position that has been ravaged by injuries. The idea made sense — a fifth-round rookie with a reasonable size profile who entered the league average of 17.2 yards per catch as a collegiate athlete.
Injuries giveth, injuries taketh away. Rashid Shaheed’s injury opened up playing time for Means, and now an ankle ailment has him on injured reserve for at least the next four weeks (three games).
Chris Olave’s concussion issues open up an opportunity for pass catchers in this offense, especially with Derek Carr healthy. But Means isn’t the type of player you need to burn a roster spot (or even an IR spot) on as he recovers from this injury in what is a lost season for New Orleans.
Chris Olave, WR
Chris Olave suffered a scary head injury last week; whenever we are getting updates that are worded as “up and active” as opposed to “aiming to play next week,” I consider an extended absence more likely than an immediate return for a team that is going nowhere.
Olave and Rashid Shaheed saw 58.3% of Derek Carr’s targets during the Week 4 loss in Atlanta (71.1% of their receiving yards), making this a difficult game to project and one that doesn’t look too good for the home team. I’m holding onto him in redraft formats for now and hoping for the best, but understand that it’s possible he won’t impact your lineup for the remainder of 2024.
Mason Tipton, WR
Can the Yale product weasel his way into the Flex conversation with time? It’s possible, and that makes him worthy of rostering, even if you’re not truly considering playing him in the short term.
With Bub Means on injured reserve (ankle), Rashid Shaheed out for the season, and Chris Olave battling head injuries, there are targets to be earned in this offense. The health of Derek Carr certainly helps for a player who has been on the field for over 75% of the snaps in three straight games.
Tipton scored 10 times on 53 catches during his senior season, giving me some hope that he can show off a nose for the end zone when given the opportunity. At the minimum, there is the potential for a Wan’Dale Robinson-like role (81.3% catch rate on balls thrown less than 10 yards downfield this season, 11.1% on other targets). That has Flex appeal in the right spot.
Juwan Johnson, TE
Juwan Johnson pulled down a 25-yard grab shortly after Chris Olave’s injury, the third time in four games that the 28-year-old had a reception of 20+ yards. I’m in no hurry to bet on anything involved with New Orleans these days, but with the rash of injuries and the potential to use Taysom Hill as a weapon more than a tight end, Johnson deserves to be on the fringes of streamability this week.
I still prefer players like Ja’Tavion Sanders and Jonnu Smith, but every league is different; if you are desperate, Johnson is there for the taking in a game script that figures to work in the favor of the passing game.
Taysom Hill, TE
Taysom Hill had eight opportunities (targets + rush attempts) in his return to action in Week 8 against the Chargers, a number that increased to 10 against the Panthers on Sunday. Sometimes his touches come in bunches as the Saints attack defensive personnel on the field, but that wasn’t the reason he was involved in Week 9 — he was handed the ball on New Orleans’ second play.
With Derek Carr back, this offense was able to offer some scoring equity, and that puts HIll in a position to succeed. He handled consecutive red-zone snaps under center in the second quarter — he pushed forward for a third-down conversion before scoring from seven yards out on the next play.
He’s not a bulletproof play, and I’m not overly optimistic that this offense is capable of moving the ball with regularity as his teammates continue to fall. However, he’s a top-12 option for me this week thanks to his unique skill set.
You might like the Texans, Commanders, and Bengals’ defenses more than what the Saints are running out there, but I prefer Hill to the tight ends in all of those situations with a bottom-10 EPA defense on the other side of the ball.
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).