Fantasy Breakdown: Ravens at Saints

If you clicked on this link, chances are you're a fantasy football addict. I like to live and die with my fantasy teams, so I don't often play in more than three leagues. This season, having a record no worse than 8-3 in each of my leagues, I owe a major amount of credit to The Fantasy Guru.

So, fantasy nuts, here's some of the fantasy-related items to focus (or not focus) on for Monday's Ravens/Saints matchup.

INJURY REPORT:

Saints:

OUT- RB Khiry Robinson (forearm)

QUESTIONABLE- WR Robert Meachem (ankle)

PROBABLE - RB Tavaris Cadet (Hamstring), RB Mark Ingram (shoulder), RB Pierre Thomas (ribs/shoulder)

Ravens:

OUT- WR Michael Campanaro (thigh)

PROBABLE - TE Owen Daniels (NIR), FB Kyle Juszczyk (foot)

RANKINGS:

QB's:

Drew Brees (5th-best quarterback option). Ravens giving up 24.2 fantasy points to QB's in past five games. Given Ravens horrible secondary, he's a great play this week, even without Brandin Cooks.

Joe Flacco (17th-best quarterback option). Saints give up on average 23.1 fantasy points per game. If he can get Owen Daniels and Steve Smith Sr. more involved, he'll really put up some numbers in primetime.

RB's:

Mark Ingram (8th-best running back option). Good PPR option. Ravens are stout against the run, but they do surrender quite a few passes out of the backfield.

Justin Forsett (9th-best running back option). Saints give up 22.4 fantasy points per game in the past five weeks and more than four catches per game to RB's. He's an unexpected stud this season and he shows no signs of slowing down.

Pierre Thomas (41st-best running back option). Won't get a lot of opportunities. Was limited in practice all week. Look for a heavy dose of Ingram.

Other RB's aren't worth mentioning.

WR's:

Marques Colston (17th-best wide receiver option). With Cooks on IR, he's the top target at WR for Brees. The Ravens secondary is trash, so he's worth taking a gamble on.

Torrey Smith (29th-best wide receiver option). Saints give up 35.6 fantasy points per game in past five weeks.

Steve Smith (41st-best wide receiver option). Needs to show up after strong start, but has been producing horribly as of late.

Robert Meachem (72nd-best wide receiver option). Don't bet on it.

Joe Morgan (75th-best option). Who the heck is this guy?

TE's:

Jimmy Graham (2nd-best tight end option). Graham is only training Gronk this week, and given Gronk's domination in the past few weeks, it's easy to understand why. The Ravens do pretty well against opposing TE's this season, only allowing two touchdowns all season. However, it's easy to assume Graham can find his way into the end zone twice, easily doubling the Ravens totals.

Owen Daniels (8th-best tight end option). Saints have also faired well against TE's this season, but Daniels will have to continue to evolve as a major part of the offense. I have a feeling he'll find his way into the end zone this week. Unless you have a stud TE over him, he's a better gamble versus many other options out there.

Kickers:

Justin Tucker (10th-best kicking option). If he's on your roster, you're using him.

Shayne Graham (16th-best option). Ehhh, there's better kickers out there. Leg strength is a concern.

Defense:

Ravens (11th-best option). Front 7 is great, secondary is trash. I don't care who Drew Brees is throwing to, it's going to be a concern. Stopping Mark Ingram in the running game can force Brees to throw, which isn't what the Ravens want to see.

Saints (17th-best option). Boom or bust with the Ravens inconsistent offensive play. Defenses are always a gamble anyways.

Of course, I can't just give you all the rankings from Fantasy Guru. If you're teetering on a playoff berth at the moment, subscribing is well worth the money. This isn't a paid endorsement at all, I'm just trying to help fellow Ravens fans out with what I believe is the best fantasy information out there.

All rankings and point averages referenced are from Fantasy Guru. All comments and interpretations are my own. Take it for what it's worth.

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