NFL

Fresh off his first NFL touchdown, Franklin posted new season highs in catches, yards and targets. This, on an evening where Courtland Sutton was not targeted. We wouldn’t read too much into that Sutton fact, but coach Sean Payton is clearly trying to get fourth-rounder Franklin more involved in the offense following his slow start. There is such limited upside in this run-first attack with a shaky rookie quarterback, but you could see Franklin coming into WR5 relevance in deeper leagues. The Panthers are a plus Week 8 matchup.

Williams wasn’t targeted in the passing game. Having failed to clear three carries since Week 2, Williams got out-snapped and out-touched by a returning Kendre Miller this evening. It’s possible not even an Alvin Kamara injury could make dead-legged Williams FLEX relevant at this point.

Making his 2024 debut after hamstring woes sidelined him to begin the year, Miller cleaned up behind Alvin Kamara in a blowout loss. Pro Football Focus also charted him as out-snapping Jamaal Williams 20-12. With their season circling the drain and the skill corps laid low by injury, the Saints are going to need more out of their backfield, and Williams is on his last legs. Miller might slowly come into 12-team league relevance, but for now he’s a purely speculative bench add.

A 24-year-old UDFA out of Yale, Tipton outshined fellow rookie DFS long shot Bub Means, who turned his five targets into a scoreless 3/37. Tipton has been involved in an on-and-off fashion since the opener, but entered this evening with just six total catches all year. With Rashid Shaheed out for the season and Chris Olave dealing with his fourth documented concussion, the 5-foot-11 Tipton could be needed for a lot more work. That’s bad for the Saints, but perhaps a lifeline for deep-league PPR managers desperate for help.

What was originally deemed a knee injury was actually a broken femur. It should be a season-ender for the 25-year-old, who is undergoing surgery Thursday evening. It’s a brutal blow for a 2021 third-rounder in the final year of his rookie deal. It leaves the Saints short-handed at corner, and clouds Adebo’s looming free agency. Perhaps he could end up back in New Orleans on something of a “prove it” deal.

With Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed sidelined, Johnson posted a new season high for targets but still failed to reach 20 yards for what would have been just the third time all season. 28-year-old Johnson simply has zero juice in this decaying offense, with or without Derek Carr under center. He can be left out of the top 24 for Week 8 against the Chargers.

With Chris Olave (concussion) out and Rashid Shaheed done for the year, fifth-round rookie Means rotated snaps and targets with fellow rookie Mason Tipton and journeyman Cedrick Wilson. Needless to say, it was not an ideal offensive environment. Means could be forced into plenty more work down the stretch, but he didn’t show enough tonight to earn top-60 status for Week 8 against the Chargers even if Derek Carr is ready to return from injury.

The five carries doubled the fifth-round rookie’s previous season total, but his fourth quarter fumble could be the only thing coach Sean Payton remembers. Trying to put the game away, Estime instead gave the Saints a lifeline when he let the ball get ripped out. Estime carries were a point of emphasis when he was in the game, as PFF charted him as getting the rock on 5-of-6 snaps. Good, but almost certainly outweighed by the bad of the giveaway looking ahead to Week 8 against the Panthers.

Once again a distant No. 2 behind Javonte Williams, McLaughlin did remain ahead of Audric Estime. That should remain the case for at least Week 8 against the Panthers after the rookie lost a fumble this evening. Held to nine scoreless touches over the past two weeks, McLaughlin isn’t looking like much of a hold in 12-team re-draft leagues since even a Williams injury would probably just result in a committee.

With overmatched rookie Spencer Rattler missing his top two receivers on a short week against an elite defense, there was nowhere for the Saints’ offense to hide. Every Kamara touch was predictable and typically resulted in a huge hit. The “highlight” was two late second quarter checkdowns that so disgusted Kamara he started yelling at the sideline. On to the next one. Speaking of the next one, we have no idea who might be available for the Saints. The Chargers are a tough matchup, but the offensive environment will be better if at least some of Derek Carr, Chris Olave and Taysom Hill can return from injury.