New Orleans

Saints

The Saints have not opened Tyson’s 21-day window for return, but the fact that he traveled with the team suggests his window could be opened later this week, which would allow him to begin practicing with the team. There’s some belief that Tyson could return in Week 9 after the Saints’ bye week, but the team hasn’t committed to a return date for him just yet. We wouldn’t expect Tyson to suit up this week against the Steelers.

Johnson was silent in a low-efficiency passing day for the Saints offense. The tight end position in general was a non-factor as a pass-catching group on the day. As Tyler Shough deals with broken bones in his non-throwing hand, the Saints’ passing game is tightening up and has less room for Johnson. He is a fantasy TE2 for Week 7 against the Steelers.

Lance was the Saints’ WR3 against the Giants, seeing four targets on the day. He scored his first career touchdown on a two-yard pass on fourth-and-goal at the end of the first half. Despite the score, Lance is still low in the Saints’ pass-catching order and is best left on fantasy benches.

The Saints offense has not pushed the ball downfield over the past two weeks, leading to low-scoring outputs for Vele. He caught three passes on the day, and nearly reeled in a fourth catch on a Tyler Shough sideline overthrow in the second quarter. When the Saints aren’t in a pass-happy game script, Vele is relegated to touchdown-dependent FLEX value. He will be in the WR4 ranks against the Steelers for Week 7.

Olave finished as the Saints’ leading receiver after coming into the weekend questionable with an illness. He was able to salvage his fantasy day with an 18-yard score at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Despite a season-low 43 yards receiving, Olave is still averaging just under 100 yards receiving per game this season. There is no question he belongs in the fantasy WR1 ranks heading into a Week 7 showdown against the Steelers.

A messy Saints committee backfield had Donaldson get the second-most snaps among New Orleans running backs against the Giants. He and Alvin Kamara were the passing-down backs while Donaldson also had a 17-yard run, the longest run by a Saints running back on the day. His first-career touchdown was called back in the third quarter after he was ruled down just shy of the goal line. The 22-year-old rookie has had a surprisingly high utilization early in the season and will continue to be involved while Travis Etienne is out. Despite this, his fantasy impact will mainly be to dilute Kamara and Kendre Miller’s fantasy values. Donaldson should only be rostered in the deepest of leagues heading into Week 7.

Milles led the Saints backfield in snaps and touches, adding two receptions for zero yards to his 70 scoreless rushing yards. He is the clear lead runner for the Saints and was tackled at the one-yard line on two separate drives, coming up just short of a touchdown to salvage his fantasy day. Miller’s lack of involvement in the passing game caps his fantasy ceiling but rushing volume makes him a low-end RB3 for Week 7 against a solid Steelers defense.

The Saints deployed a committee backfield once again for Week 6. Kamara was the third running back into the game for the Saints, but was the only one to score a touchdown. He briefly went to the medical tent after falling on his hip in the first half but re-entered the game soon after. Kamara caught a swing pass from Tyler Shough and tip-toed away from the sideline to score from 17 yards out in the third quarter. With that catch, he became the sixth player in NFL history with 5,000 yards receiving and 5,000 yards rushing in his career. Despite the touchdown and milestone, Kamara was still third in running back snaps and is a touchdown-dependent FLEX play for Week 7 against the Steelers.

The Saints had their usual slow start on offense, going scoreless in the first quarter. Shough then did what he does best and led an effective offensive effort the rest of the way. He is dealing with broken bones in his non-throwing hand and it arguably impacted some of his throws, missing open receivers and struggling to push the ball downfield. Though he averaged 4.8 yards per attempt, he totaled three touchdowns on the day. Shough was also impactful as a runner, totaling 32 yards and a tush push touchdown on the day while also getting tackled inside the five-yard line on another rush. Two straight games have been impacted by Shough’s hand injury but the post-first quarter volume continues to elevate his fantasy floor. Shough is a high-end QB2 for Week 7 against the Steelers.

Kamara is active after NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported he would be expected to play in Week 6. He played through the back injury last week and is part of a rough running back committee in the Saints backfield. Kamara is in the RB4 ranks for fantasy purposes. Also active is Chris Olave (illness). The Saints declared QB Zach Wilson, EDGE Anfernee Jennings, S Mike Reid, LB Kaden Elliss, DT Nathan Shepherd, and DT John Ridgeway inactive for Week 6 against the Giants.