Saints vs. Vikings
Saints
The Saints are on the road again against another strong team in the Minnesota Vikings. Unlike last week in Baltimore, this game will be played in a dome which bodes well for this Saints offense. If the Saints can claim another road victory this week they would cement themselves as an NFL powerhouse. Below I will preview the fantasy relevant players for this week and their perspective matchups.
How does the addition of Eli Apple change this Saints defense? Will there be an impact this week?
The former first-round cornerback Eli Apple is an intriguing add for the Saints. Apple has been a disappointment for the Giants as he has not lived up to his draft pedigree. In 1,065 coverage snaps, he has been targeted 162 times posting a 104.4 passer rating against. He has given up 11 touchdowns and only snagged one interception in his career. But there is some room for positivity. For one, Apple is only 23 years old and has a remaining year on his rookie contract after this season. Also, through the first 7 weeks of this season, Apple has played his best football. He has not given up a touchdown while notching three pass breakups which amounts to a solid 86.1 passer rating allowed. The improvement could be the noise of a small sample or possibly the sign of a young player developing. In any event, he will be replacing two of the worst corners in the NFL so even average play will be a huge upgrade for this secondary. Both PJ Williams and Ken Crawley have been horrendous this year and Apple should be better than either of them. With less than a full week to get acclimated to this defense, I expect Apple to have limited snaps this week and therefore a limited impact. If Apple can shore up the second corner position this defense can return to is form from last year and become a relevant fantasy defense for the stretch run.
Can Xavier Rhodes cover Michael Thomas?
When the Vikings face a team with a clear number one receiver they often use Xavier Rhodes as a shadow. Outside of one tough game against Davante Adams, Rhodes has been able to shut down Alshon Jeffery, Brandin Cooks, and Robby Anderson. So what does this mean for Michael Thomas? Most receivers would receive a significant downgrade when going up against Rhodes but Thomas spends a significant amount of time in the slot where Rhodes will not shadow him. Even if his snaps against Rhodes on the outside are tough, he should be able to have a solid fantasy week against the Vikings other corners in the slot. The mind of Sean Payton cannot be underestimated, and I would assume he putsThomas into the slot even more than usual. Overall, I expect a normal week for Thomas in a game that should be pretty high scoring,
Tre’Quan Smith or Cameron Meredith as the number two?
Cameron Meredith had a disappointing week against the Ravens. He was not targeted even once, while Tre’Quan Smith hauled in three of five targets for 44 yards. Meredith seemed to be carving out a role as the short yardage receiver but that seemed to disappear last week. Tre’Quan has filled into Ted Ginn Jr.’s role a bit better which has given him the chance to overtake Meredith. In the long run, I favor Smith much more than Meredith but this week might be different, even considering last week’s performance. When Michael Thomas moves into the slot it will probably be Smith facing Xavier Rhodes in coverage which represents a significant downgrade. Even with that, I expect the game script to favor passing so both Meredith and Smith could have solid weeks, although neither has a huge edge over the other.
How will the running back touch share breakout this week?
First, I would like to establish a couple of facts. The Minnesota Vikings have a strong run defense (Ranked 4th by Pro Football Focus. Two, their linebackers have trouble in coverage. Three, I expect this to be a close game that ends with a lot of points. All of these factors favor Alvin Kamara. Both of them are likely to have a tough time on the ground but Kamara should expose the Vikings linebackers as a receiver. The caveat, as always with Mark Ingram, is that he could find his way into the end zone. I expect the Saints to be near the goal line frequently in this game and that always gives Ingram a strong chance of scoring. However, Kamara should out touch him significantly in this game and could easily capitalize on those goal-line opportunities as well.
How many fantasy points can Drew Brees score this week?
After Drew Brees faced what should be his toughest opponent last week, the sky’s the limit. Our favorite hall of fame quarterback gets to play in a dome this week and should be able to put up plenty of points. This offense has enough weapons to slice through even the best defenses and the Vikings should be no different. Brees should be in everyone’s starting lineup as an elite QB1.
-Stephen Dudas
Vikings
The Vikings have a primetime Sunday Night Football matchup with the New Orleans Saints this week at home. The Saints have been pretty much unstoppable, with QB Drew Brees seemingly breaking a new passing record weekly and now a full stable of RB1s in the backfield with the return of Mark Ingram. The Vikings boast the number 1 WR, at least in fantasy circles, in Adam Thielen and their own suddenly potent running game. Both teams have a great chance and ability to put up a lot of points and this should be a great game on Sunday night. Let’s get into the questions.
Which QB will have the better game?
The Saints and Vikings both have a dominant passing game, stellar pass catchers, and sometimes-good defenses. The Vikings are hopeful that CB Xavier Rhodes will play after returning to practice late in the week. If he doesn’t play, WR Michael Thomas and QB Drew Brees will be salivating on Sunday. The Saints defense has been underwhelming so far, but they get up usually for primetime games. I expect a shootout in this one with both QBs needing to sling it until the end, but I have my money on Brees not making as many mistakes as QB Kirk Cousins and his many turnovers this year.
Will the Vikings continue to lean on Latavius Murray?
With reports coming out that RB Dalvin Cook will be out through the Vikings week 10 bye week, RB Latavius Murray has been sensational the past couple of games. The saints actually boast a pretty good front line to stop the run spearheaded by Cam Jordan. It is my guess that Murray does get a chance to fall into the endzone once or twice, but he will be 100% touchdown dependant if you want to start him this week. That said, that dependency could lead to multiple scores with little yards, but you would take that. This is going to be a passing game all the way and Murray hasn’t shown to be a capable receiver out of the backfield.
Will Adam Thielen tie the record?
Giving up four 100 yard receiving games in the first 6 games, the Saints have been very up and down on their pass defense, especially against true WR1s. WR Adam Thielen has put up 100 yards in seven straight games and is going for his eighth, which would tie him with Megatron for the record for most consecutive games with 100 yards receiving. This is going to happen. I guarantee that Cousins will be force feeding his man-crush the football all day as Thielen gets open with speed, crisp route running, and pure determination to prove all the haters wrong as he has done his entire career. Thielen keeps rolling to over 100 yards, 10+ catches and a touchdown.
What will be the outcome?
In the rematch of the Miracle Game from last year’s playoffs, the Vikings will come up short as the Saints get their revenge. Drew Brees is just unstoppable right now and the Saints boast one of the nastiest offenses in the game today. RB Alvin Kamara is always a good bet to break chunk gains every time he touches the ball and you never know where the ball is going, except for way downfield. Saints win 32-30.
-Matt Dean