The New Orleans Saints could be without all three of their top wide receivers in Week 13’s home game with the Detroit Lions:
An already shorthanded New Orleans Saints receiving corps could be running even more thin during Week 13’s game with the Detroit Lions. With Michael Thomas out of action on injured reserve with a knee injury, the Saints planned to lean heavier on second-year pros Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed — but they both went down with injuries of their own in Sunday’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
Olave suffered a concussion after slamming his head to the turf in an awkward fall, having adjusted to an underthrown pass from Derek Carr deep down the sideline. Most players in the concussion protocol this season have had to miss about two weeks before being cleared to return to the field, so it’s unlikely Olave will be cleared in time to play next Sunday. This is his second concussion in his first two years with the Saints.
Shaheed was hurt a thigh muscle on the first play of the Falcons game, and he initially tried to play through it. But adjusting to more off-target passes from Carr aggravated his injury and he was shut down by halftime. Saints coach Dennis Allen said Monday that while Shaheed avoided a major, season-ending injury it would be tough for him to play this week. We’ll have to see how his availability looks moving forwards.
If those two (plus Thomas) can’t go on Sunday, the Saints will be relying on rookie draft pick A.T. Perry, veterans Lynn Bowden Jr. and Keith Kirkwood, and practice squad receivers Marquez Callaway and Jontre Kirklin to lead the way. The Lions have a vulnerable pass defense, but the Saints might not have enough weapons to take advantage of it.
Thanksgiving is a great time of the year, an occasion that hopefully most of you could reconnect with people from your past and mix them with others from your present. Hopefully, it offered a chance to ponder and discuss commonalities and not differences. And regardless, it is a day to give thanks and appreciate what I hope are the positives in your life.
In that vein, and with fantasy roster improvement in mind, here are the players that, through Week 11, have produced more than one “big game.” It’s not hard to create an average starting lineup, but you need those players to twist the fantasy point spigot open and offer difference-making to your weekly score. As usual, these lists contain a few surprises and just as notable, some exclusions of players that should have been there. Performance scoring with reception points and showing players with more than one instance.
1.) Quarterbacks – Here are the quarterbacks that have turned in 30 points or more in a game. As they typically score more than any other position, these can make a difference for your team.
Quarterbacks
30 Pts
Dak Prescott
3
Jalen Hurts
3
Josh Allen
3
Lamar Jackson
3
Justin Fields
2
Justin Herbert
2
Kirk Cousins
2
Tua Tagovailoa
2
First off, where is Patrick Mahomes? What a telling absence. Jalen Hurts, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson are no surprises, but Dak Prescott does exceptionally well when he faces a weak defense. Tua Tagovailoa has two, but that reflects that he really only does well in relation to the one receiver as we will see later. These were the game performances that likely won your week.
2.) Running Backs – The position has been devalued in recent years, so getting one of the high-scoring backs is still a major advantage.
Running Backs
25 Pts
Christian McCaffrey
3
Jahmyr Gibbs
3
Raheem Mostert
3
Alvin Kamara
2
Austin Ekeler
2
Brian Robinson Jr.
2
De’Von Achane
2
Kyren Williams
2
Saquon Barkley
2
As many points as David Montgomery produces, he wasn’t on this list and yet Jahmyr Gibbs was with three. That bodes very well for his future whenever he takes an even more prominent role. Raheem Mostert continues to defy all we thought for the first years of his career. Brian Robinson is a sign that the new offense under OC Eric Bieniemy is better than you think and headed in a positive direction.
3.) Wide Receivers – There are more of these on the field at one time than the other positions considered, and if you can own two or more of them, they can help sustain high weekly points from the position.
Wide Receivers
25 Pts
Tyreek Hill
7
CeeDee Lamb
4
Keenan Allen
4
A.J. Brown
3
Adam Thielen
3
Ja’Marr Chase
3
Justin Jefferson
3
Stefon Diggs
3
Tank Dell
3
Amon-Ra St. Brown
2
Brandon Aiyuk
2
DJ Moore
2
Mike Evans
2
Nico Collins
2
Puka Nacua
2
Well hello, Tyreek Hill. The most notable surprises are Adam Thielen, Tank Dell, and Puka Nacua. Where is Cooper Kupp? Davante Adams? Garrett Wilson? Want a sign that the Texans are on the right track? Both Tank Dell and Nico Collins are here as the only two from the same team. What are the Texans going to be like next year?
4.) Tight Ends – They score less than the other positions, and even less this year, so any difference-making tight ends are an advantage.
Tight Ends
20 Pts
George Kittle
4
T.J. Hockenson
3
Travis Kelce
3
Cole Kmet
2
Mark Andrews
2
Trey McBride
2
George Kittle is still a little inconsistent, but no arguing what he’s done when he has a big game. The notables here are Cole Kmet and Trey McBride. Kmet had double touchdowns with both Justin Fields and Tyson Bagent and yet several outright dud games. For any Arizona tight end to be on this list flies in the face of every Cardinal offense for a few decades. And he is only a second-year player.
5.) WR A.T. Perry (NO) – In the wake of Michael Thomas’ latest trip to IR, the Saints brought back Keith Kirkwood and Marques Callaway and the Saints prefer veteran receivers. Callaway was the replacement for Thomas in 2021 and had a career year with 46 catches for 698 yards and six touchdowns – his only notable season. But the Saints want to give the 6-4 sixth-round rookie Perry a shot as the replacement. He already had his first action last week with two catches for 38 yards and a touchdown at the Vikings. Thomas leaves behind 7 or 8 targets weekly. The Saints host the Lions this week and no other teams with a winning record are on their remaining schedule.
6.) QB Kenny Pickett (PIT) – Despite the winning record, the Steelers offense is abysmal and they rank No. 32 in fantasy points from their quarterbacks. They just fired OC Matt Canada and will rely on QB coach Mike Sullivan and RB coach Eddie Faulkner for the rest of the season. Many teams get a positive bounce from such a move and there is talent on the roster with George Pickens, Diontae Johnson, and Pat Freiermuth. The Steelers face the Bengals and Cardinals next, which should indicate if there are any changes that benefit the rest of the season.
About Thanksgiving…
Credit: Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports
Green Bay 29, Detroit 22
Hope you didn’t get to the game late. The Packers pulled away 23-6 at halftime looking exactly like we expected from the Lions. They missed Aaron Jones and Luke Musgrave landed on IR. But Jordan Love passed for 268 yards and three touchdowns with no turnovers. Christian Watson (5-94, TD), Jayden Reed (4-34, TD) and even Tucker Kraft (2-15, TD) took care of the scoring. AJ Dillon wasn’t much as the starting running back when he gained 43 yards on 14 rushes but he added three catches for 38 yards. The Green Bay offense threw well and made no mistakes. They rise to 5-6 and and host the Chiefs for another challenging matchup.
The Lions lost their seventh-straight Thanksgiving game, even though they were favored by seven points. Jared Goff threw for 332 yards and two touchdowns but lost three fumbles. Amon-Ra St. Brown (9-95) and Kalif Raymond (5-90) were the top receivers and Jameson Williams (2-51) caught a 38-yard pass. Sam LaPorta (5-47, TD) caught the only first-half score and the Lions should have been in this one more but gave up a touchdown on one of Goff’s fumbles. David Montgomery (15-71, TD) and Jahmyr Gibbs (11-54) ran effectively, and Gibbs added four receptions for 19 yards. This was a tough loss since it drops the 8-3 Lions behind in the race for the No. 1 seed in the NFC, and even could give the Vikings an opening to challenge them. The Lions head to New Orleans for Week 13.
Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
Washington 10, Dallas 45
This was the expected outcome when the Cowboys face the worst defense in the NFL. Sam Howell threw for 300 yards, but no scores and one interception. Curtis Samuel (9-100), Jahan Dotson (5-52), and Terry McLaurin (4-50) were the only receivers with more than 30 yards, Brian Robinson was limited to 53 yards on 15 carries while Antonio Gibson turned in 37 total yards. Both scores from the Commanders happened in the second quarter when they drew as close as 14-10 but they never reappeared after halftime. They drop to 4-8 and will make the Dolphins very happy next week.
Dak Prescott threw for 331 yards and four touchdowns, though the top receivers Brandin Cooks (4-72, TD) and CeeDee Lamb (4-53, TD) didn’t manage monster games. All the rest of the receivers were held to fewer than 36 yards. The run game was better than usual, though Tony Pollard (13-79, TD) only rushed 13 times in a game that the Cowboys always led. Rico Dowdle (3-11) caught a 15-yard touchdown but totaled just four touches. The lack of a rushing effort is perplexing for this supposedly conservative offense. The Cowboys rise to 8-3 and host the Seahawks this week.
Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
San Francisco 31, Seattle 13
Yet another big win, only in this case the Seahawks were 6-3 just a week ago and yet had no answer for the 49ers defense. Geno Smith was held to 180 passing yards and an interception. Jaxon Njigba-Smith (2-41), DK Metcalf (3-32), and Tyler Lockett (3-20) all saw limited effectiveness and yet nearly all the targets. With Kenneth Walker out, Zach Charbonnet had the start and only gained 47 yards on 14 rushes with four catches for 11 yards. The Seahawks were entirely outclassed and outplayed. They never even scored on offense, their lone touchdown coming off a Brock Purdy pass that was deflected into a defenders hands for a 12-yards interception return. The Seahawks drop to 6-5 and head to Dallas.
The 49ers were in control for the entire game and never trailed. Brock Purdy passe for 209 yards and a 28-yard score to Brandon Aiyuk (2-50) in the fourth quarter. Christian McCaffrey was the star of the game with 114 yards on 19 carries and five receptions for 25 yards with two rushing touchdowns. Deebo Samuel ran for a two-yard touchdown and led the wideouts with seven catches for 79 yards, George Kittle was only used to catch three passes for 19 yards. These teams meet again in two weeks, The 8-3 49ers have righted themselves from that three-game losing streak and take complete control of the NFC West over the No. 2 6-5 Seahawks. The 49ers spend next week in Philadelphia before returning home to host these Seahawks again.
A.T. Perry has a big opportunity to prove himself in Michael Thomas’ absence. The rookie must step up with a vacancy in the receiving corps:
The New Orleans Saints have placed wide receiver Michael Thomas on injured reserve. This continues an unfortunate trend for the wide receiver, though there’s hope he returns before the end of the season. There are two ways to go about filling Thomas’ role. You’re likely replacing his production with multiple players, but who’s going to step into his role.
New Orleans brought back Keith Kirkwood and Marquez Callaway after Thomas’ injury. The Saints philosophy is to typically lean on veteran players. Kirkwood had 209 receiving yards as a rookie with New Orleans, but that was in 2018. Callaway was the Saints lead receiver when Thomas missed a whole season. Callaway would be able to slot well into Thomas role.
However, neither Callaway or Kirkwood have Perry’s upside. The Saints should lean away from their typical reliance on veterans in favor of getting a bigger sample size of a young player. Thomas’ absence opens the door for A.T. Perry to show himself deserving of a bigger role. Perry is a rookie who registered his first catch and touchdown in last week’s game versus the Minnesota Vikings.
In this week’s opening press conference, Saints head coach Dennis Allen said “Mike’s position is the kind of position they see Perry playing” and expected a bigger role for Perry. This is the right call, as Perry deserves an opportunity to show if he can be a future asset for the Saints.
Saints head coach Dennis Allen said that WR Michael Thomas and CB Marshon Lattimore may ‘take some time’ recovering from injuries:
New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen addressed injuries to star players Michael Thomas and Marshon Lattimore on Monday, and it doesn’t sound like either of them will be available for Sunday’s game with the Atlanta Falcons. Thomas and Lattimore exited the Saints’ loss to the Minnesota Vikings with knee and ankle injuries before the bye week.
“I think Michael Thomas and Lattimore, these are injuries that are going to take some time. But I think other than that we’re in a pretty good spot,” Allen said. When asked about possibly placing either player on injured reserve, he responded, “I don’t know, we’ll see.”
Allen declined to specify who will be filling in for either of them, acknowledging that veteran backup Isaac Yiadom was an option to start in Lattimore’s place. The Saints could also rotate Alontae Taylor there out of the slot or ask Paulson Adebo to play on the other side of the field. They have options.
That’s also true offensively. A.T. Perry made a few plays against Minnesota while stepping in for Thomas, but the Saints have brought in experienced pros Keith Kirkwood and Marquez Callaway in recent days, too. Allen’s keeping his cards tight to his vest on this front. Hopefully Thomas and Lattimore can heal up and get back on the field sooner rather than later.
With Michael Thomas on the mend, the Saints have brought back another familiar face: wide receiver Marquez Callaway
With Michael Thomas on the mend, the New Orleans Saints have brought back another familiar face: wide receiver Marquez Callaway. Callaway was spotted in the open locker room media session on Monday at the team practice facility, though it isn’t immediately clear whether he’s on the practice squad or the 53-man roster, or what the corresponding roster move is for his return.
Callaway spent the first three years of his career with the Saints, peaking in 2021 with 46 catches for 698 yards and 6 touchdown receptions. The 6-foot-2, 204-pound wideout was college teammates with Alvin Kamara and Alontae Taylor at Tennessee. The Saints declined to extend his contract this offseason so he followed Sean Payton to the Denver Broncos, but was let go during roster cuts after training camp and spent a few weeks on the Las Vegas Raiders practice squad.
Now he’s back — and so is Keith Kirkwood, another veteran receiver who knows the playbook. It’s worth bringing in experienced pros like them to tide the team over if Thomas is going to miss extended time.
But you have to hope their presence won’t come at a detriment to A.T. Perry. The rookie wideout stepped up when Thomas was injured early on against the Minnesota Vikings, catching a 15-yard touchdown pass and a 23-yard pickup that was the team’s second-longest play from scrimmage. He deserves more targets, but Dennis Allen’s coaching staff may feel differently.
Rookie report card: How do you grade the New Orleans Saints 2023 draft class at midseason? Have Bryan Bresee and his peers met expectations?
So much hype is built up for the annual NFL draft class, but it isn’t always fair to put such high expectations on rookie players. In many cases there are well-established veteran players in place ahead of them who they need to outwork for snaps in practice, much less in games. And that’s before other inhibiting factors like injuries and suspensions get in the way of their development.
Keep that in mind as we go through our New Orleans Saints rookie report card. The Saints’ 2024 draft class hasn’t had many opportunities to distinguish itself going up to the Week 11 bye, and the seven remaining games in the regular season are going to be critical for many of them. Here’s how we grade each first-year pro’s performance at midseason:
Wide receiver Keith Kirkwood re-signed with the Saints after a knee injury sidelined Michael Thomas:
He’s back: the New Orleans Saints re-signed wide receiver Keith Kirkwood on Tuesday, adding depth to the position in the wake of a knee injury for Michael Thomas. Kirkwood became a favorite target of Derek Carr’s over the summer at training camp, but he was limited to a role as a run-blocking specialist in the regular season and was supplanted by rookie draft pick A.T. Perry in recent weeks.
Still, it makes sense to bring him back when the team is short-handed. Thomas could miss some time coming out of the bye week after injuring his knee in Sunday’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
That would leave the team with Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, Lynn Bowden Jr., and Perry on the 53-man roster with just Jontre Kirklin on the practice squad — rookie wideout Shaquan Davis is on the injury list with an undisclosed ailment. If nothing else, they need Kirkwood to help keep reps moving on time at practice.
Dennis Allen shared updates on multiple injured Saints players after Sunday’s loss, including Derek Carr, Michael Thomas, and Marshon Lattimore:
We received a mix of good news and bad news on New Orleans Saints players who were injured in Sunday’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings; head coach Dennis Allen shared updates on everyone’s status after the team returned to New Orleans and completed further medical evaluations at the team facility on Monday.
Here’s what we learned about Derek Carr, Michael Thomas, and Marshon Lattimore:
Report: Saints ‘played it safe’ with Michael Thomas, wide receiver avoided serious knee injury vs. Vikings
Here’s some good news: New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas avoided a serious knee injury in Sunday’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings, per NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill, who adds that the Saints chose to “play it safe” with Thomas and keep him on the sidelines after evaluating him. That makes sense given his injury history, the state of the game, and a bye week promising extra rest coming up next.
And fewer snaps for Thomas meant more opportunities for rookie wideout A.T. Perry, who responded appropriately. Perry’s first NFL reception gained 23 yards and converted a first down. His second catch scored a 13-yard touchdown. He’s doing everything he can to earn the trust of his quarterbacks and coaches, even if he’s got room to improve; Perry dropped a pass late in the game when a Vikings defender hit him at the catch point.
But let’s keep the focus on Thomas. He lost years of his prime to a series of complicated ankle injuries, but he’s already played his most snaps (490) since his record-setting 2019 campaign (942). He may not be the superstar receiver he once was, but he’s been an important player for the Saints this season and the offense is better with him in the lineup. It’s early but signs point to Thomas being available when the Saints regroup after their bye week.
Studs and Duds from Saints’ 27-19 loss to the Vikings
It was too little too late, but you can’t say the New Orleans Saints didn’t try and rally back against the Minnesota Vikings in Sunday’s 27-19 loss. The defense fought hard in the second half and the offense made enough plays to cut into a huge first-half deficit. They showed some grit in the face of adversity with injuries stacking up. It just wasn’t enough to steal a win.
But who made a difference on Sunday afternoon — for good or bad? Who stood out for positive and negative reasons? Let’s break down this week’s Studs and Duds:
