The Carolina Panthers will face the New Orleans Saints in Week 9. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding WR Xavier Legette.
Is Xavier Legette Playing in Week 9?
The rookie first-rounder was added to the Panthers’ injury report with a toe injury on Thursday. Xavier Legette was listed as a limited participant on Thursday and Friday and is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game.
Legette should occupy a steady starting role in the Panthers’ offense. Although Adam Thielen is nearing a return from a hamstring injury that has kept him out since Week 3, Diontae Johnson is no longer part of the team after being traded to the Baltimore Ravens earlier this week.
Legette has a touchdown every other game for the last five weeks but encouragingly received seven targets last game. That should be closer to his norm for the rest of the season, as he’s also played 74% of the snaps in the last three weeks after logging 58% of the snaps from Weeks 1-5.
We’ll continue to monitor the Panthers’ 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 Xavier Legette in Week 9?
With Diontae Johnson out of the picture, Xavier Legette will have the chance to develop in an expedited manner, and that’s gold for his dynasty managers. In terms of Week 9 or the remainder of 2024, I’m having a hard time getting there.
Yes, Legette has scored in three of five games, but he’s averaging just 1.15 yards per route this year, a level of inefficiency that I find more predictive than the recent scoring binge. Regardless of who is under center, do we think Carolina will frequently be in the red zone?
I don’t, and if the touchdowns dry up, what does Legette bring to the table? His current 17-game pace for this season is 47 catches for 449 yards, which means he’s essentially pacing — for an entire season — for a stat line similar to what Darnell Mooney has already put on the board; and I don’t feel good about Mooney on a weekly basis.
There might be something to Legette long-term, but we’re going to have to wait to plug him into lineups and find out.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 9 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Xavier Legette’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 9
Legette is projected to score 10.2 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 2 receptions for 60.8 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.
PFN Insights: New Orleans Saints Defense
The New Orleans Saints’ collapse is one of the more bizarre stories of this season. Sure, we know now that blowing out the Panthers and Cowboys may not have been as impressive as it first looked. Yet, this was a defense that was ranked in the top 10 in Weeks 3 and 4 against the Eagles and Falcons, two good offenses. Since then, the wheels have fallen off. The Saints’ highest ranking is 15th in Week 8, with a low of No. 28 in Week 6.
The offense’s loss of Derek Carr has certainly not helped, but it cannot be the entire reason for the defense’s transition from a top-10 unit to close to a bottom-10 unit. They have stopped getting pressure as easily, and with it, their sack and turnover rates have started to drop. They have also been struggling in the red zone in recent weeks, and teams have realized they can run the ball on them consistently.
It is hard to see how this gets better for the Saints. Hopefully, the offense can relieve some of the pressure when Carr returns, but there is a bigger underlying issue here than the offense.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Xavier Legette’s Week 9 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)
New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers Insights
New Orleans Saints
Team: New Orleans has lost six straight games, matching their longest skid of the 2000s (also: Weeks 5-11, 2005).
QB: Derek Carr might return to a skeleton crew that doesn’t have the big play upside of the offense he left. Can he make it work? It’s possible – he’s completing a career-high 77.5% of his short passes this season.
Offense: The Saints have scored 45 points in their past three games—they averaged 45.5 points per game during their 2-0 start this season.
Defense: Over the last three weeks, New Orleans has created pressure on just 25% of opponent dropbacks (Weeks 1-5: 38.1%).
Fantasy: Alvin Kamara has more targets (18) than rush attempts (17) over the past two weeks. After averaging 90.5 rushing yards per game in September, he didn’t reach 70 once in October.
Betting: Since 2020, unders are 27-13 (67.5%) in Saint games played after Halloween.
Betting: The Saints have been 1-6-1 ATS since the start of 2022 when they were favored on the road.
Carolina Panthers
Team: Carolina is technically the home team next week in Germany against the Giants – their next true road game doesn’t come until December 8 (Week 14 at Philadelphia).
QB: Baby steps – Bryce Young threw a touchdown pass under pressure against the Broncos on Sunday, doubling his career total of such passes in the process.
Offense: The Panthers are averaging 4.0 yards per play in Bryce Young’s starts this season (Andy Dalton: 5.3).
Defense: Every team that has faced the Panthers this season has posted a passer rating north of 95 (last week against Denver was the fourth time this season they allowed a rate over 125).
Fantasy: Chuba Hubbard ran for 56 yards in Denver on Sunday, 59 of which came after contact.
Betting: The Panthers have failed to cover four straight at home, failing to cover by a total of 40.5 points during that stretch.
