Fantasy Football Player Notes

Chris Olave had a magnificent rookie season as a target vacuuming wide receiver with future alpha potential. Olave finished as the WR25 in fantasy points per game, which doesn't do any justice to his sparkling efficiency metrics. Olave was 15th in target share (26.7%), third in air yard share (40.8%), and tenth in target per route run rate (29.3%). He was seventh in open rate (ESPN analytics), immediately behind Stefon Diggs, while also ranking tenth in yards per route run. With Michael Thomas back, Olave will fight Thomas tooth and nail for the WR1 role in this offense. If he can improve on his 11 red zone targets (40th) and four total touchdowns (37th), he could easily finish as a WR1 in 2023.

Alvin Kamara had a year to forget in 2022 with QB/TE Taysom Hill seeing an increased role as a backfield rusher in the Saints offense. Hill earned more touches inside the 10-yard line (8 vs. 12) which limited Kamara to just two rushing TDs. AK41's receiving usage also fell off a cliff toward the end of the year. From Weeks 13-18, Kamara never caught more than two passes. His target share fell from 22% to 11%. The days of him being a game-breaker as a receiver seem to be long gone as he has seen his pass-catching numbers fall off drastically compared to his first four years in the NFL when he was averaging nearly 90 receptions per year. The overall lack of TDs and receiving was heightened more so when Kamara's poor rushing efficiency failed to make up for his loss in other production. The Saints running back ended the year second-worst in the rushing EPA (-41). Before the schedule eased up over the last four games, Kamara had just two games with 65 rushing yards. He still managed to finish as the RB15 in points per game (12.8), which might need to be his new fantasy expectation when he plays in 2023. Because there are serious question marks about Kamara's availability in regards to a potential suspension on events from last year's Pro Bowl. The general ambiguity will make him very risky to draft in the early rounds.

How does a running back finish as the RB12 while catching only 12 passes? Touchdowns. That's exactly how the season played out for Detroit Lions running back Jamaal Williams. He took on the role as the Lions' goal-line back, carrying the ball a league-high 41 times inside the 10-yard line for 13 rushing TDs. Williams would finish the year with a league-high 17 rushing TDs - not too far off his 16.4 expected touchdowns.

Touchdown regression pundits will shout to the heavens that Williams cannot duplicate his 2022 success and his new landing spot in New Orleans confirms this. He signed for 3 years, $12 million, $8 million guaranteed but will now compete for red-zone touches with both Alvin Kamara and Taysom Hill. Kamara totaled just eight carries inside the 10-yard line last season with Hill chipping in 12. But a potential Kamara suspension would dramatically boost Williams' fantasy value as the Saints offense has never shied away from featuring the likes of Latavius Murray or Mark Ingram when AK41 has missed time in the past.

The nine-year veteran is now on the Saints and will be suiting up for a team other than the Silver and Black for the first time in his career. There were some concerning signs of slippage for Carr in 2022. His interception rate (2.8%) was the highest of his career, and his completion percentage (60.8%) was the lowest since his rookie year. He averaged 7.0 yards per attempt, a five-year low. Carr doesn't add rushing value, so his fantasy value will depend on his landing spot and his ability to rebound from a down year,

Juwan Johnson finished TE11 in half-point PPR fantasy scoring last season after catching 42 passes for 508 yards and seven touchdowns. It was an impressive performance considering that the Saints slogged through 2022 with Andy Dalton as their quarterback for most of the year. A former undrafted free agent, Johnson has been a diamond in the rough for the Saints and could provide more sneaky fantasy value in 2023.

A situational wildcat quarterback masquerading as a tight end, Taysom Hill finished TE5 in half-point PPR fantasy scoring last year. Hill was wildly inconsistent from week to week, however, and a 112-yard, three-TD rushing performance vs. Seattle in Week 5 accounted for a massive chunk of his fantasy scoring. Hill's fantasy value for 2023 depends largely on his usage. With Derek Carr arriving in New Orleans during the offseason, it seems likely the Saints will reduce Hill's snap counts, rendering him a fantasy afterthought who might have a couple of splash weeks but won't provide bankable value.

Jameis Winston started the first three games of 2022 for the Saints, sustained four fractures in his back in Week 4, and then was never reinstated as the starter even after his back had healed. The 29-year-old has a strong arm and 80 NFL starts under his belt, but it appears Winston is destined for backup duty again now that the Saints have added Derek Carr.