Cardinals @ Saints
Final Score: Cardinals 20, Saints 13
Writer: Geoff Ulrich @thefantasygrind (X.com)
This was a semi-lacklustre game for the most part. The Saints actually showed up, which is what made it interesting in the end. I won’t say they’re good, because they’re not, but their defense is likely better than people think and tackled hard in this game, giving up a few big plays here and there, but also making life difficult for Kyler Murray in some spots.
The Cardinals looked like a team that expected to have it easy, but then relied on pure talent to carry them through. It works against bad teams but won’t work against good teams. Big plays from Trey Benson, Trey McBride, and Marvin Harrison Jr. allowed them to flip the field in a couple of spots and reach 20 points. The Cardinals’ defense was also the real hero here, and while they did allow a big game to Juwan Johnson, they really limited the big plays from Olave and Shaheed.
The Cardinals’ defense is legit and something to keep in mind for fantasy streaming, as they also have a great schedule. The Cardinals’ offense had some moments but was disappointing for the most part, considering the opponent.
There are some good fantasy notes here despite the semi-boring game, and we’ll dive into the individual performances below.
Three Up
- Juwan Johnson – Big blow-up game and a player that may have legit fantasy legs going forward.
- Trey McBride – Led the Cardinals in usage and seems on his way to a monster year.
- Trey Benson – Had a statement run that should lead to more work.
Two Down
- James Conner – He’s likely going to lose a little more early down work soon.
- Anyone not named McBride/Harrison in ARZ receiving core – It’s a ghost town after these two.
Arizona Cardinals
Quarterback
Kyler Murray: 21/29, 163 yards, 2 TD | 7 carry, 38 yards
Murray got sacked 5 times in this game, which is a potential concern going forward. His 5.6 yards per attempt was also uninspiring against a Saints defense that is not supposed to be very good (although, as I mentioned above, they played well in this game).
I think most people will be happy with the two TDs and 38 rushing yards from Murray in this game, but it was far from a statement outing. The connection with Trey McBride and Marvin Harrison Jr. looked on point, and he did connect with Harrison on a great throw downfield where he was well covered, and on a short TD pass. My concern is that Harrison is still not getting great separation against weaker opponents, which could really limit Murray’s passing numbers this year unless another WR steps up.
Luckily, he still has McBride, who should go over 1,000 yards again if this game is any indication. It’s a solid start for Murray, whose rushing gives him a very solid floor. Still, the Cardinals’ limited passing game limits his upside against weaker opponents in spots like this.
If you have Murray, there is no need to panic, but I’d be scheduling watching and thinking about potential fill-ins on weeks where he’s up against tougher secondaries.
Running Back
James Conner: 12 carries, 39 yards | 4 rec, 5 yards, TD
Conner isn’t likely to lose his grip on the starting job, but he’s firmly in a rotation for early-down work after this game. He only averaged 3.3 YPC and didn’t break off any big runs. Part of that was the Saints selling out to stop the run, which they did a great job of for the most part. His day was saved by a short, goal-line TD catch; otherwise, he would have been a very disappointing fantasy start for most.
The good news for Conner owners is that he’s likely going to retain some decent value, even if Benson takes over more early-down work, because of his pass-catching reliability.
I see Conner having decent value still, but more so now when the Cardinals project to be in trailing or more passing down situations, where he can rack up PPR points.
Trey Benson: 8 carries, 69 yards | 1 rec, 6 yards
Benson didn’t get a ton of work, but he made the most of it, taking one of his carries 52 yards down the sideline. The play was exactly the reason why Arizona is likely to give Benson more work, as he was able to maneuver to a gap on the outside, despite his huge frame, and then shove off one defender to add 20+ yards to the run.
It remains to be seen whether or not Benson will be able to capitalize on this solid outing. The rest of his day was pretty meh, so don’t go overboard bidding for him on the WW or anything, but if he does follow this week up with another nice outing, he could have some standalone value soon.
The good news is, there is that even if Benson’s usage doesn’t go up from here, there is little to nothing else at RB on the ARZ depth chart, so if Conner were ever to get hurt, Benson would have immediate value.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Marvin Harrison: 6 targets, 5 rec, 71 yards, TD
I think most people would look at this line from Harrison and think, Great start! It was in some ways, but the game film did raise some concerns. The usage was fine, as Harrison and McBride are the clear-cut 1, 1A targets on this team, as no other WR/TE received more than two targets in this game.
The issue with Harrison was much the same as it was last year; he just wasn’t getting open that much (or the Cardinals just aren’t scheming him open enough). His one big 45-yard play, where the majority of his yardage came from, was a semi 50/50 ball that Harrison did a good job of tracking, vs a DB who never turned his head. If he doesn’t come down with that, his game was pretty disappointing. It’s not really how you want the game to go for your elite WR1.
I think Harrison is going to struggle with elite CBs. The good news is that the Cardinals have no choice but to throw him the ball. Kyler forced it to him here and will continue to do so in the future. So even if I didn’t like the way this passing game looked, there will be more decent days ahead.
For fantasy, I might look to trade him away mid-season if the Cardinals’ schedule toughens up, but riding out the ups and downs is OK as well if you have a deeper WR core.
Trey McBride: 9 target, 6 rec, 61 yards
I think McBride is in for more monster weeks and a big year. The 9 targets led the Cardinals’ pass-catchers by a long shot, and while he again failed to bring in a TD, at some point, these short TD passes (this week they went to Conner, Harrison) will fall to him.
While Murray will flip it up to Harrison every once and a while, when he’s on the move, it’s generally McBride he’s looking for. This was again evident on a 25-yard catch-and-run play to McBride in the second half. Murray eluded pressure and fired over the middle to McBride, who bullied a couple of defenders to a 20+ yard gain. He’s just a much better option for Murray to rely on over the middle and is more reliable for fantasy as well.
If someone is out there in need of a shakeup after Week 1 and wants to unload McBride for cheap, I’d be a buyer. Once the TD regression evens out, I think he’ll challenge for the TE1 spot.
Tip Reiman: 1 target, 1 rec, 10 yards
Michael Wilson: 4 targets, 1 rec, 5 yards
Zay Jones: 1 target, 1 rec, 4 yards
Elijah Higgins: 2 targets, 1 rec, 3 yards
Greg Dortch: 1 target, 1 rec, -2 yards
New Orleans Saints
Quarterback
Spencer Rattler: 27-46, 214 yards | 4 car, 29 yards, TD
Rattler was half-decent here. You’re not looking to him to start anytime soon, but I wouldn’t write him off as a joke in 2-QB or Super Flex leagues either.
The Cardinals’ defense had really good coverage on both of Rattler’s main outside targets in this game, so he did the sensible thing and looked for Juwan Johnson and his big body over the middle as much as possible. It worked to the extent that it actually gave the Saints a chance to win at the end of this game.
He also adds a little bit of rushing upside here and has an outside shot of landing a rushing TD most weeks. I think Tyler Shough eventually takes over, which could lift the upside of Shaheed and Olave eventually, but Rattler worked well in this game and had a good connection with Johnson, which I think will likely continue to be a thing as long as he’s a starter.
Running Back
Alvin Kamara: 11 carries, 45 yards, TD | 2 targets, 2 rec, 12 yards
Kamara looked solid in this game. I always worry, given how many carries and touches he has taken the last few years, that the wheels will fall off for him sooner or later, but he was running hard and showed great burst on an 18-yard TD-run, the Saints’ only TD of the game.
The lack of receptions was likely a little frustrating, especially given the game flow, but Rattler is more of a creator with his feet, so I would not expect a ton of dump-offs when he’s under centre. I could see Kamara’s PPR value going up with Shough.
All-in-all, a very solid start for him just from an eye-test standpoint. The fact that the Saints’ defense was half-decent is also good for him going forward. Backup Kendre Miller came in and had a handful of decent runs, but it was mostly relief work.
Kendre Miller: 5 carries, 24 yards
Sporadic work for Kamara’s backup and no involvement in the passing game means Miller is off the fantasy radar unless anything were to happen to the Saints’ RB1.
Devin Neal: 2 carries, 9 yards
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Chris Olave: 13 targets, 7 rec, 54 yards
A nice return game for Olave, even if the stat line looked very inefficient. The Cardinals really improved their defense over the offseason, and it showed. New corner Will Johnson played extremely well and had lockdown coverage on Olave at times, and Shaheed.
Olave also just missed a TD, and his 13 targets led the team by a wide margin.
I could see Olave and this passing game getting better as the season progresses, especially if Tyler Shough can provide a lift at some point. He’s a name I would not hesitate to go out and try to trade for if you have WR issues, especially if someone is not paying attention to usage.
Rashid Shaheed: 9 targets, 6 rec, 33 yards
A little disappointing, but, like I said, the Cardinals were hellbent on limiting the bigger plays downfield and on the outside in this game and did a great job of locking up Shaheed. The good news? He’s the clear-cut number two WR in this offense, with Brandin Cooks and Devaughn Vele mere 3-4 WR set guys.
Shaheed was getting used on shorter and downfield routes just the same; he just wasn’t able to connect anything big, outside of one 17-yarder after half. I’d be a buyer here as well because I think we can only see improvement going forward.
Juwan Johnson: 11 targets, 8 rec, 76 yards
Ok, I may have saved the most interesting part of this game for last. Juwan Johnson showed up and balled out. I’ve always thought of Johnson as an interesting prospect/talent. He’s 6’4, 230lb, and ran a sub 4.6 40M out of Oregon, a place known for producing some interesting athletes.
The Saints have never used him as the primary pass-catching TE, choosing to rotate him in with some other names, but Kellon Moore must have seen what I saw, because Johnson played a ton in this game. In the first half alone, he had a 96% snap rate, and he looked like a legit TE1.
Some of this was matchup-based as the Cardinals pushed a lot of work towards the middle, and Rattler was clearly used to working with Johnson, likely from second-team practice last year and in preseason. A lot of people will point to his “drop” in the end zone on what could have been a game-tying TD, but to be honest, it wasn’t the easiest catch, and the fact that we’re talking about a guy that went undrafted for the most part post an 8-76 day on 11 targets is the real story.
I take two things from this game. One, Johnson is for real, and while he won’t get 11 targets every game, as long as Rattler is in there, he’ll look Juwan’s way when the corners are tying up Shaheed/Olave.
Two, start your TEs vs the Cardinals.
As far as Johnson’s value on the wiaver wire goes, I would be a buyer. This Saints team will be in lots of passing-friendly game scripts, and Johnson, as I mentioned above, is going to play a ton this year. Let other people be dismissive. If you waited on TE and don’t like your options, I’d be bidding.
Brandin Cooks: 4 targets, 3 rec, 26 yards
Devaughn Vele: 2 targets, 1 rec, 13 yards