The New Orleans Saints look to build off of some positive signs from Kellen Moore’s head coaching debut in Week 2 as they welcome the San Francisco 49ers to The Superdome. What matchup could they look to exploit against the 49ers, and could it be fruitful in fantasy football as well?
The Saints had a somewhat disjointed Week 1 on offense. Alvin Kamara looked strong to start, but disappeared from the game plan by halftime. Chris Olave was targeted 13 times but converted those to an inefficient seven receptions for 54 yards.
Tight end Juwan Johnson was the only skill player to have a standout game for his position, but even his eight catches for 76 yards could’ve been better if he’d held on to a beautiful throw from Spencer Rattler in the end zone late in the game.
Perhaps most curious though was wide receiver Rashid Shaheed. While he was targeted nine times, he only recorded six catches for 33 yards.
We did a more in-depth dive into why that usage was odd on Thursday but to sum it up: Shaheed has been one of the best deep threats in football the last few years. Using him in a way in which he records an average depth of target barely above eight is inefficient at best and malpractice at worst.
We’ll lean towards the former, as it was Moore’s head coaching debut, but using Shaheed in a role more in line with his skillset will be paramount to victory in Week 2. And, believe it or not, New Orleans might actually have an offensive line capable of giving those missing deep shots time to develop.
While the Saints offensive line was overall barely average in Week 1, all of their starters recorded a PFF pass blocking grade of at least 51 (counted as average by PFF), with four recording one of at least 74.4, which would be “very good” according to PFF.
Now, they might not have all those starters in Week 2 with Taliese Fuaga ruled as questionable, and Trevor Penning out for another week.
What’s more, San Francisco's secondary has already shown that they’re vulnerable to explosive plays. While it’s a small sample size, the 40-yard reception they conceded to Jaxon Smith-Njigba should make fantasy owners and Saints fans alike confident that they could allow another similar play this week.
This matchup isn’t likely to draw much national attention this week. A backup quarterback on side, a first year starter on the other, and many key names missing.
But just because it’s not likely to draw many eyes outside of the two fanbases doesn’t mean there aren’t intriguing names from a fantasy perspective. If New Orleans can buy enough time for Spencer Rattler in the pocket, Rashid Shaheed may by the most intriguing of them all.