Panthers@Saints
Game Info
Kickoff: Sunday, November 24th at 1:00 pm EST
Location: Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, LA
Betting Odds: NO -9.5, 47 total via Oddsshark
Network: CBS
Sleeper Spotlight: Reggie Bonnafon
Carolina Panthers
Quarterback:
- Kyle Allen (Sit)
Kyle Allen had a week to forget in Week 11, where he tossed four picks and was sacked five times. While things should get better for Allen against the Saints, they have sacked the quarterback the 11th-most time in the league. The good news for Allen is the Saints secondary looks like it will continue to be without Marshon Lattimore.
Running Backs:
- Christian McCaffrey (Start/RB1)
- Reggie Bonnafon (Sit)
The Falcons ended Christian McCaffrey’s seven-week touchdown streak, but he still had 191 yards of total offense with 14 targets and 11 catches. McCaffrey remains the RB1 regardless of matchup. This is your weekly reminder that if you’re a McCaffrey owner, you need to have Reggie Bonnafon on your bench, just in case.
Wide Receivers and Tight Ends:
- D.J. Moore (Start/WR2)
- Curtis Samuel (Start/Flex)
- Greg Olsen (Start/TE1)
Following a season-high 15 targets in Week 11, D.J. Moore now has seen at least eight targets in each of his last six games. There’s just one thing he’s been missing during that time, the end zone. Moore is a high-end WR2 this week. Despite Curtis Samuel having a 20% target share over the teams’ five games, Samuel hasn’t exceeded four receptions in a game since Week 3. Of the two wideouts, Samuel has the larger aDOT and with Kyle Allen under center, he just hasn’t been able to connect with Samuel on the deeper passes. Regardless, I like Samuel as a flex this week. Greg Olsen has seen 21 targets over the team’s last three games, which ties him for fourth-most in the league during that time. That type of workload places Olsen as a TE1 moving forward.
New Orleans Saints
Quarterback:
- Drew Brees (Start/QB1)
It’s now been three weeks since Drew Brees returned from his thumb injury and we’ve seen his tear up the terrible Cardinals and Bucs defenses and struggle against the new-look Falcons defense. This week, he’ll face a Panthers’ defense that has allowed the 21st-most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. The good news for Brees is he’s at home in the Superdome where he thrives. I’m firing Brees up as a QB1 this week.
Running Backs:
- Alvin Kamara (Start/RB1)
- Latavius Murray (Sit)
Even in a tough matchup against the Bucs, Alvin Kamara caught 10 passes and accumulated over 120 total yards. Kamara has seen 10 targets in each of the last two games, which solidifies him as an RB1. The cherry on top is that the Panthers have allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing running backs this year. Following two monster games in Kamara’s absence, Latavius Murray returned to his part-time role, seeing just 19 total touches over the last two weeks. Murray can remain on your bench barring another Kamara injury.
Wide Receivers and Tight Ends:
- Michael Thomas (Start/WR1)
- Jared Cook (Start/TE1)
- Ted Ginn (Sit)
Michael Thomas now has six consecutive games of seeing at least 11 targets and has crossed the 100-yard plateau in four straight games. Honestly, I just needed a couple of stats to pad his writeup and I should’ve just wrote that he’s a stud. Over his last four games, Jared Cook has either found the end zone or eclipsed 70 yards. However, the Panthers have been good against tight ends this year, allowing the third-least points per game. I still have Cook as a back-end TE1 this week. With Thomas, Kamara, and Cook making up a whopping 71% of the Saints targets over the last three weeks, none of the other pass catchers are that interesting. I could see using Ted Ginn as a super cheap DFS play, but not in season-long.
–Rich Holman
The defense has allowed 74 combined points over the last three weeks, so there could be some rust building upon this hot rod of a defense ????????
Ravens did all the damage, Dak is not Lamar.