Throughout the season, Jake Ciely (*@allinkid*) will give you the expert take on New Orleans Saints players from fantasy perspectives, while letting you know which performers will help you take home a championship. The Saints head to Washington as they aim to reach the .500 mark again.
The Saints head to the nation's capital this week, and the team's high-scoring ways will continue in Week 10. Drew Brees continues to be an elite option and put up another big game in Week 9, as he threw for 387 yards and three touchdowns. This came on the heels of his 505-yard, seven-touchdown game in Week 8. Brees now has 2,763 yards and 18 TDs on the season and is the fourth highest scoring quarterback in fantasy. This is a great matchup for Brees and the Saints, as the Redskins pass defense is rather weak. In a quiet day last week, Tom Brady threw for 299 and two touchdowns against these Redskins. You can expect 300 yards and two touchdowns as the floor for Brees.
This week's game should be a shootout, and Kirk Cousins (Redskins) has some potential in this matchup. Be careful though, as his ceiling is balanced out with a low floor thanks to turnovers. Blake Bortles (Jaguars) continues to put up big numbers and is a Top 10 quarterback so far. He will continue to produce well this week in a matchup with the Ravens. The Texans' defense has been very forgiving for opposing quarterbacks, making Andy Dalton (Bengals) a strong play yet again. He's been a great surprise for those that grabbed him early in the season. Alex Smith (Chiefs) draws the unenviable matchup with the Broncos this week and is better off left on benches. The same goes for Jay Cutler (Bears) in a road game against the Rams.
Mark Ingram had a quieter game than usual, if you really want to call 9.6 Fantasy points on NFL.com quiet. After all, Ingram is the No. 2 running back so far and has at least 7.4 points in every game. Ingram has over a dozen points in five games and is a great bet to get back into the end zone. LeGarrette Blount just ran for 129 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries against the Redskins. They are far from the formidable run defense we saw early this year. Ingram is a must-start option in all leagues and one of the elite running back options that should never be reserved. C.J. Spiller is worth using in deeper PPR leagues, as the Redskins were having trouble stopping Dion Lewis as well.
Doug Martin (Bucs) has some huge games and some quiet ones as well. This week points to a big one, as the Cowboys allow 23.99 FPPG to running backs on NFL.com, second only to the Chargers. Many don't realize that Ryan Mathews (Cowboys) is RB21 so far, and the Dolphins present a matchup where both DeMarco Murray and Mathews can return value. DeAngelo Williams (Steelers) is filling in for Le'Veon Bell quite well again, and you should treat him as a must-start option in all leagues, especially with the matchup against the Browns this week. While Chris Johnson (Cardinals) has been a terrific find for owners, he has a very tough matchup against the Seahawks. It's hard to bench Johnson at this point, but if you're deep at running back or have a nice receiver to play in the Flex in PPR leagues, you could make the swap.
Brandin Cooks and Willie Snead benefited from Brees' big day again and have become a formidable duo. Cooks found the end zone, and Snead turned 10 targets into six receptions and 95 yards. Both players are high-end WR2 options every week, and one of them should hit WR1 value this week given the matchup. Either Brandon Coleman or Marques Colston will make some noise again this week. The only risk is not knowing who will see more opportunity. Nevertheless, the upside with both is appealing, and in deeper leagues, you can take a flier on either one. It's clear that Ben Watson has cemented his name among the must-start tight ends, and he checked in with another 60 yards last week.
Rishard Matthews of the Dolphins has been quite good for the team and fantasy owners. He's locked into the No. 2 role in Miami and is a decent WR3 play, especially against the Eagles secondary. The Redskins will attempt to keep up with the Saints as mentioned, and that makes DeSean Jackson a high-upside WR3 play and gives Pierre Garcon nice PPR value. Travis Benjamin (Browns) has a high of 47 yards over the last three games, but you can count on him having a bounce-back game against a Steelers team that has allowed the sixth most receiver yards. On the less favorable side of matchups, both the Broncos and Seahawks are stifling receivers, making Jeremy Maclin (Chiefs), John Brown (Cardinals) and Michael Floyd (Cards) riskier than normal. The Cardinals' Larry Fitzgerald needs to start every week despite the matchup.
There are plenty of TEs that are set up for good games this week, as Rob Gronkowski (Patriots), Jordan Reed (Redskins), Gary Barnidge (Browns) and Greg Olsen (Panthers) all have favorable matchups. Kyle Rudolph (Vikings) draws the Raiders, and while the matchup doesn't guarantee success, it helps Antonio Gates (Chargers) owners find a one-week fill-in. As for Vernon Davis, it will take a few weeks to acclimate to the Broncos' offense and the Chiefs allow the least amount of Fantasy points to tight ends. Don't plug Davis in yet.
The offense should give Kai Forbath plenty of scoring chances this week. Meanwhile the Saints DST is a sneaky fill-in play, as the Redskins are allowing 8.25 FPPG to opposing defenses with 14 turnovers and three DST touchdowns allowed. Jason Myers is a quality replacement for those with kickers on a bye, as the Jaguars should score plenty this week, and the Ravens allow the most FPPG to kickers. The Titans and Browns both have 17 turnovers already, making the Panthers and Steelers great Week 10 DST options, respectively. Don't even think about using the Texans or Giants this week. The Bengals and Patriots put up way too many points.
For more in-depth Fantasy Football coverage, visit Jake Ciely and the team over at RotoExperts.com. Saints fans get a special discounted rate on the RotoExperts Xclusive Edge premium package by **clicking here*.*
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