New Orleans

Saints

Miller operated as Travis Etienne’s backup with Alvin Kamara out this week and managed to steal a red zone touchdown. He surprisingly drew Etienne to a carries standstill at nine apiece. Etienne, however, saw nine targets. Miller was not targeted. Miller will be a thorn in the side of Etienne backers as long as Kamara is out, but he doesn’t have much standalone value headed into Week 2.

Lance operated as the Saints’ No. 3 receiver in this game, but he was the wideout Kellen Moore subbed off the field for 12-personnel looks. In a game that doesn’t see Tyler Shough drop back over 60 times, Lance likely doesn’t make much of a mark in the box score. The good news for Lance is that the Saints could be in line for another high-scoring outing next week when they take on the Ravens. Lance will be a boom/bust WR5.

Johnson didn’t catch his first pass of the game until the final minute, when Tyler Shough found him in the end zone for a game-tying score. He then racked up another 45 yards on a catch at the end of the fourth quarter and another in overtime. Johnson only finished fourth on the team in targets, which could be an issue when the team’s passing volume inevitably dips. He will be a mid-range TE2 for another potential shootout with the Ravens next week.

Vele stepped in as the Saints’ No. 2 receiver with Jordyn Tyson on injured reserve. He did a flawless impression of a top-10 pick, making multiple diving grabs to keep the Saints alive in the second half. The Saints acquired Vele via trade last offseason but couldn’t get him going until late in the season. He then missed the final month of the year with a shoulder issue. A healthy offseason seems to have done him well, and he’s now poised to be the No. 2 receiver on a fast, pass-heavy offense until Tyson returns. Vele will be a WR4 for his Week 2 matchup with the Ravens.

Etienne was taken off the field a surprising amount, ceding nine carries to Kendre Miller and another two to CJ Donaldson. Donaldson also logged two targets. While his role on the ground was concerning for fantasy managers, a nine-target outing cushioned the blow slightly. In PPR leagues, Etienne did enough. Unless the Saints are going to play in overtime shootouts every week, Etienne will need to take on more rushing work to be a weekly RB2. With Alvin Kamara potentially returning next week, Etienne will sit on the RB2/3 border for his date with the Ravens.

The Saints got off to a slow start and it looked like Olave, along with the rest of the offense, was going to have a bust of a fantasy day. Instead, Tyler Shough turned the corner in the third quarter and started peppering Olave with intermediate and deep shots. Olave had two gains of 40+ yards and four of 20+ yards. Olave gets another potential shootout next week when he takes on the Ravens. He will be in the WR1 mix.

Shough was nearly seeing ghosts in the first half. The Saints had zero points and their longest drive resulted in 36 yards with a punt. Then, in the second half, Shough turned the ball over on each of his first two drives. The game looked truly over at this point, but Shough battled back and got points on the board on each of his next four drives. Detroit played passively on defense and Shough routinely punished them with long throws to Chris Olave and Devaughn Vele. Shough nearly won the game with a touchdown pass to Noah Fant in overtime. Kellen Moore went for two and Shough was unable to find his target in the back of the end zone. With the first-half rust hopefully shaken off, Shough will be a high-end QB2 versus the Ravens.

Kamara practiced in full this week, but the Saints are going to give him at least seven more days to get fully healthy. Kendre Miller will back up Travis Etienne. Also inactive for the Saints are TE Oscar Delp, QB Zach Wilson, OL Mason Murphy, EDGE Cameron Jordan, DL John Ridgeway III, and DL Khristian Boyd.

Kamara practiced in full on Friday but was still listed as questionable for Week 1. It doesn’t sound like there are any immediate concerns with the knee issue, but rather the team wants to ease him back into action with another week of practice. Kendre Miller will serve as the team’s RB2 for this game.

Underhill notes that Kamara practiced fully on Friday, “so he’s cleared, but the team is deep at running back.” This is good news for starting RB Travis Etienne, who should lead the team in carries easily and potentially hog snaps in scoring position since Kamara will be less than 100 percent healthy, if active. Saints RB3 Kendre Miller is the next man up.