On Monday, March 6th, Derek Carr was signed to the New Orleans Saints for four years for $150 million. Derek Carr is a serious upgrade over the spotty quarterback play the saints have been putting forward for quite a while.
Between Jameis Winston and Taysom Hill, the Saints’ wide receivers and tight ends have had a tough time establishing a rapport and will look to improve their numbers with Carr at the helm.
Michael Thomas
Now that Carr has been signed, the Saints need to turn their focus to signing star wide receiver Michael Thomas. Thomas is looking to regain his fantasy form in 2019, where he hauled in 149 catches for 1,725 yards and nine touchdowns. That year Thomas also won offensive player of the year.
Last year in Las Vegas, Derek Carr fed his #1 receiver, Davante Adams, for 100 catches for 1516 yards and 14 touchdowns. Thomas is in for a big year. If he is able to be the #1 receiver, we know he can be.
Thomas has had back-to-back tough fantasy campaigns, but with a new quarterback, fantasy owners should be more optimistic about Thomas’s fantasy outlook this year.
Alvin Kamara
Kamara has consistently been one of the most versatile weapons in the NFL since being drafted in 2017, and with an upgraded team, the threat Kamara poses to defenses only rises. Defenses will need to respect the Saints deep ball capabilities with Carr under center, which should lessen the number of stacked boxes Kamara will have to face.
As the only threat on a one-dimensional 2022 Saints offense, Kamara carried the rock 223 times for 897 yards, hauled in 57 catches for 490 yards, and had four total touchdowns.
The Saints had the #5 overall defense in the NFL last season, and Kamara had limited opportunities himself to score, with possessions being so few and far between. Expect a completely different game flow from the Saints this year.
Chris Olave
Chris Olave is a player on the Saints that could take another step in the right direction in 2023, especially with a risk-taker like Carr under center. Last year with a mess of a quarterback situation, Olave hauled in 72 catches for 1042 yards and four touchdowns.
A higher-powered offense and an increase in the number of possessions should lead to more opportunities for Olave to score, especially as a threat over the top.
When Olave had a quarterback that could throw the ball over the top at Ohio State in 2021, he hauled in 13 touchdowns in just 11 games. I expect a similar result to yield from the Saints offense this year.
