32 Fantasy Previews: New Orleans Saints

The 32 Fantasy Previews series rolls into the NFC South and we start with the Saints.

Drew Brees

When everything is going right, Brees is clearly one of the best fantasy quarterbacks in the game. Him and Sean Payton created a genius system that has made the Saints one of the best teams in the NFC and has also brought a Super Bowl to Philadelphia.

Things are a bit different for New Orleans, this time around.

For starters, thanks to the Bounty-gate scandal, New Orleans will not have Payton manning the sidelines this season, as he was suspended by Roger Goodell for the entire season.

And New Orleans is also having trouble with Brees.

The Saints placed the franchise tag on Saints in March. However, Brees has yet to sign his tender, as he is looking for a long-term deal, but the two sides are in disagreement over the amount of money in the deal.


I don't expect this to linger into the season, and Brees should be back after setting an NFL record last season by throwing for 5,476 yards and adding 46 passing touchdowns and even one rushing touchdown.

Brees is currently the 3rd QB off the board, behind Aaron Rodgers and Cam Newton. Owners may be worried about the contract dispute lingering on, and they are also most likely thinking Newton repeats his numbers from last year. I'll get to Newton in a later piece.

With Brees, I still have him ranked #2, and he is going in the middle of Round 2, so you can hold off taking him in Round 1 if you're high on him.

Darren Sproles, Pierre Thomas, Mark Ingram

Heading into 2011, New Orleans' running game was thought to be a bit murky, but one guy was thought to be the leader.

The Saints had traded a future 1st-round pick to the Patriots to move back into the 1st round to select Alabama RB Mark Ingram.

Because of that, fantasy owners thought Ingram would be the main guy in the Saints' backfield.

Well, one man did break from the pack and finish among the top 10 running backs.

However, that back was not Mark Ingram. It was Darren Sproles.

New Orleans had signed Sproles as a free agent from San Diego while trading Reggie Bush to the Dolphins.

Sproles turned into a PPR monster, catching 86 passes, most among running backs, for 710 receiving yards, and carrying the ball 87 times for 603 yards, and scoring 9 total touchdowns, finishing as the #9 scoring RB.

Ingram, on the other hand, dealt with injuries, and was limited to 10 games, only putting up 474 yards on just 122 carries and five touchdowns, finishing 45th among RBs.

Then there's Pierre Thomas.

Thomas seemed to have been a bit forgotten with Ingram getting all the hype and Sproles emerging as the top back in New Orleans.

But Thomas quietly put together a seaosn of nearly 1,000 total yards, including 50 catches for 425 yards, and 6 total touchdowns, good for 27th among RBs, meaning he still ended up as a solid RB3/Flex play.

And for the 1st time in his career, Thomas played all 16 games and had his 2nd-best yards per carry average at 5.11 ypc (5.39 in 2009 is his best).

So as it stands for 2012, Sproles should continue to be a PPR monster in this offense, Thomas will get carries and continue to be productive, and Ingram is a wait-and-see as he had surgery during the offseason.

Sproles is currently the 14th RB off the board, going in late-Round 3.

Ingram is the 27th RB off the board, going in Round 7.


Thomas is the 53rd RB off the board, going late-Round 15, early-Round 16.

Like Sproles in Round 3 or 4, not too sure on Ingram in Round 7, just yet, and I love Thomas in Round 15. That is insane value for someone who finished in the top 30, last season.

Marques Colston

Yet another 1,000 yard season for Colston in 2011. That's now 5 in 6 seasons. Not bad for a 7th-round pick.

Colston also scored 8 TDs last season, and he is averaging 8 TDs over the last 3 seasons (9, 7, 8).

He finished as the 11th highest scoring WR in 2011.

So with Colston, you know get consistent season numbers.

However, he still has only played a full 16 just once in his career. But in those last 3 seasons, he is averaging 15 games played.

So if you draft Colston, you may have to prepare for the chance that he'll miss at least one game.

As of now, Colston is the 19th WR off the board, going in Round 4. Just showing the depth of quality WRs available in Round 4.

Other names to know in the New Orleans WR rotation: Devery Henderson, Lance Moore, Adrian Arrington and rookie Nick Toon.

Jimmy Graham

 One of last year's sleeper TEs woke up in a big way.

The former basketball player quickly joined the ranks of the elite TEs, scoring almost 200 points, and finishing as the #2 TE. Would have been #1 if not for the insane season from Rob Gronkowski.

Graham finished with 1,310 receiving yards, just 17 behind Gronkowski, and grabbed 11 TDs.

And with the way Brees loves going to Graham (he was targeted 149 times), no reason to believe Graham can't continue to put up huge numbers.

However, if you want Graham, it's going to cost you either your 1st or 2nd round pick. He is currently the 2nd TE off the board, going on average, by pick #15.

So you'll have to decide if you're willing to spend a high pick to grab Graham, or wait on a TE in the later rounds.

New Orleans is yet another team full of fantasy points. Now let's see if they can overcome the suspensions to Jonathan Vilma and Will Smith, as well as the loss of their head coach.

That's your fantasy outlook at the Saints. Next time, we'll take a look at the Atlanta Falcons.

Until next time, this is your boy, Bill Wild, signing off.