New Orleans VS Carolina Week 7 Game Preview
Each week we will be looking at some of the games being played and going position by position discussing if you should start or sit that player.
Each player will be rated as one of the following:
Must Start: These are your elite players that you start weekly despite the matchup.
Should Start: These players have good matchups and opportunities and should be in your starting lineups.
Could Start: These are your fringe starters, the ones that could be in your starting lineup but also could be sat if you have better options.
Should Sit: These players have bad matchups or may not have the opportunities in a given matchup that they usually get, and you should try to sit them on your bench.
Must Sit: These players should not be in your lineup at all; there are better options out there
Quarterbacks
Drew Brees (NO): Brees has not looked his best so far this season. However, coming off a bye and most likely getting his top option back in Michael Thomas makes Brees an excellent streaming option at the QB position. Carolina is only giving up 14.6 fantasy points per game to the QB position, mostly because of how much teams have run the ball against them.
Teddy Bridgewater (CAR): Bridge water is coming off of a rough game against the Bears, but he is still a viable streaming option this week. He has two great weapons on the outside with Moore and Anderson. These weapons should allow him to exploit a New Orleans defense that is giving up the fourth-most fantasy points to Quarterbacks at 23.9 points per game.
Running Backs
Alvin Kamara (NO): Kamara has been every bit of the elite running back fantasy players expected to get when spending a top 4 pick on him. Now he gets a Carolina matchup that has given up the 6th most fantasy points to running backs on the season. This could be a big week for Kamara.
Latavius Murray (NO): Did you know that Murray has only seen nine fewer carries on the season than Alvin Kamara? He is truly being used in the Mark Ingram role this year that allowed Ingram to finish as a top RB option a few years back. Murray is not used much in the passing game, limiting his upside, but you can roll Murray into your lineups as an RB3/Flex play in a friendly matchup on the ground. (Update: With all the injuries to Wide Receivers Murray has become an even stronger play.)
Mike Davis (CAR): This article will be updated later in the week when we know more about McCaffery's status. If he sits, then Mike Davis continues to be a strong play. New Orleans has been strong against the run, but Davis sees plenty of volume as the starter to keep him in fantasy lineups as a high-end RB2 with RB1 upside.
Wide Receiver
Tre'Quan Smith (NO): With Thomas and Sanders out Smith becomes the top wide receiver on this team. It is still a tough matchup for Wide Receiver but he can be in lineups as a low end WR2.
Robbie Anderson (CAR): Anderson has broken away from Adam Gase this year and has flourished in Carolina. He has become the top option for Bridgewater in this offense. If McCaffery is back this week, that could lead to a few more targets going CMC's way, but that could also cause defenses to focus on the run game more. New Orleans is middle of the pack against receivers this year, allowing 23.6 fantasy points per game to the position. We will have to see if New Orleans gets Janoris Jenkins back this game, but Anderson has shown he deserves to be in lineups as a WR1 with plenty of upside.
DJ Moore (CAR): Moore has started to put together some good games in a row. He is being used differently this year than in previous years. Moore has become more of the deep threat option instead of the underneath possession receiver he was in the past. This lowers his floor but raises his ceiling every week. Moore can be put in lineups as a WR2.
Curtis Samuel (CAR): Samuel missed last week's game vs. the Bears with a knee injury. Even if he plays this week, he should not be in fantasy lineups. He has not seen much work in the passing game and has not done much with the few targets he has seen.
Tight End
Jared Cook (NO): Cook has not seen more than three targets in a game since week two, and even then, he only saw 5. With Thomas coming back and drawing more targets his way, there might not be much work left for Cook. Carolina has also been tough against the tight end this year, only giving up 5.7 fantasy points per game. If you have Cook, you are probably starting him with the state of tight ends this year, but he most likely needs a touchdown to return TE1 value. (Update: WIth the injuries in for other passing game options Cooks has shot up to a must start if you have him.)
Ian Thomas (NO): Thomas has not been used in the passing game this year. Even though New Orleans is giving up the most points per game to the TE position, you cannot trust Thomas.