Week 12 vs. Atlanta Falcons
Drew Brees completed 22-of-30 passes for 363 yards with four touchdowns in the Saints’ Week 11 evisceration of the Eagles. Clearly on a mission to go scorched earth on the NFL, coach Sean Payton kept dialing up pass plays early in the fourth quarter despite owning a commanding lead. Brees is in the midst of an MVP season and is playing as well as any quarterback in the league right now. He has another great matchup Thursday night against an Atlanta defense that he torched for 396 yards and three touchdowns in Week 3. Ranked as our QB1 for Week 12, Brees is a must-start on Thanksgiving night.
Week 11 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Drew Brees completed 22-of-25 passes for 265 yards with three touchdowns in the Saints’ Week 10 win over the Bengals. He also finished with a 1-yard rushing touchdown against a Cincinnati team that fired defensive coordinator Tyrel Austin a day after the beat down. The Saints have scored 96 points over their past two games and will return home Sunday to take on a banged-up, desperate Eagles team at the Superdome. Ranked as our QB2 for Week 11, Brees is a must-start this weekend.
Week 10 at Cincinnati Bengals
Drew Brees completed 25-of-36 passes for 346 yards and four touchdowns in the Saints’ Week 9 win over the Rams. Brees lit up L.A.’s defense in the first half, finding Alvin Kamara for a touchdown late in the first quarter, hitting Tre’Quan Smith for a touchdown in the second, and tight end Ben Watson from 13 yards out just before halftime. The entire New Orleans offense fell asleep in the third quarter when the Rams made their comeback but with the game hanging in the balance in the final minutes, Brees lobbed a perfect pass over corner Marcus Peters (who wasn’t ready when the Saints snapped the ball) on a 72-yard touchdown pass to Michael Thomas. Ranked as our QB5 for Week 10, you can keep Brees in your lineup as a QB1 when the Saints travel to Cincinnati on Sunday. The Bengals rank No. 23 against fantasy QBs this year so while it’s a road game for Brees, the matchup is very good.
Week 9 vs. Los Angeles Rams
Drew Brees completed 18-of-23 passes for 120 yards with a touchdown and an interception in the Saints’ Week 8 win over the Vikings. The interception was Brees’ first on the year but he still completed nearly 80-percent of his passes. While the yardage total was discouraging, Brees also wasn’t asked to do much but manage the game in the second half. Brees owners should receive a nice bounce-back performance when the Saints host the Rams on Sunday in what should be a shootout at the Superdome. Ranked as our QB7 for Week 9, Brees is once again a QB1.
Week 8 at Minnesota Vikings
Drew Brees completed 22-of-30 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns in the Saints’ 24-23 win over the Ravens. The touchdowns were Brees’ 500th and 501st of his incredible career. Seemingly every time he completes a pass now he’s either setting or breaking a record. While Sean Payton’s insistence on using Taysom Hill in the red zone has capped some of Brees’ fantasy production, the future Hall-of-Famer remains a bona fide QB1 every week. On Sunday, the Saints travel to Minnesota to take on a Vikings team that knocked New Orleans out of the playoffs a year ago on Stephon Diggs’ miracle touchdown reception. Brees is our QB6 for Week 8.
Week 7 at Baltimore Ravens
Drew Brees completed 26-of-29 passes for 363 yards and three touchdowns in the Saints’ 43-19 demolishing of the Redskins in Week 6. Brees entered the evening in third place on the league’s all-time passing yards list but he quickly surpassed Brett Favre for the No. 2 spot. He then became the NFL’s all-time leader in passing yards, eclipsing Peyton Manning at No. 1 with a 62-yard touchdown to Tre’Quan Smith late in the second quarter. It was all Brees and the Saints on the night, as the Redskins were blown out despite having two weeks to prepare for Sean Payton’s offense.
The Saints will have a stiffer challenge in Week 7 when they fly to Baltimore to take on the Ravens. With Baltimore owning the No. 5 fantasy defense versus quarterbacks, Brees will be a low-end QB1 for Sunday. He ranks as our QB12 this week.
Week 5 vs. Washington Redskins
Drew Brees completed 18-of-32 passes for 217 yards and no touchdowns in the Saints’ Week 4 win over the Giants. New Orleans moved the ball successfully in the first half but often settled for field goals to cap off scoring drives. Making matters worse for Brees owners is that Taysom Hill saw some red zone opportunities throughout the game. Why Sean Payton trusts Hill over Brees in any situation inside the 20 is beyond me, but he’s the one with the Super Bowl ring. Brees should get back on track Monday night when the Saints host the Redskins. Washington has an underrated defense but Brees and the Saints have often been unstoppable at home. Ranked as our QB5, get him in your lineup for Monday.
Week 4 at New York Giants
Drew Brees completed 39-of-49 passes for 396 yards and 3 touchdowns while also adding three carries for seven yards and another two rushing scores in the Saints’ Week 3 win over the Falcons. Brees was incredible, once spinning away from two Atlanta defenders to score a pivotal touchdown in the fourth quarter, then going air born to score the game-winner after driving the Saints to the goal line in overtime. If that wasn’t enough, he also passed Brett Favre to become the NFL’s all-time completion leader. The Saints travel to East Rutherford this Sunday to take on the Giants. Ranked as our No. 2 QB for Week 4, keep Brees in your lineup.
Week 3 at Atlanta Falcons
Drew Brees completed 28-of-35 passes for 243 yards and two touchdowns in the Saints’ Week 2 win over the Browns. He got off to a slow start, which included missing a sure-fire touchdown pass to Ben Watson at the goal line. He also underthrew Ted Ginn, who was wide open for another potential score. That said, he rebounded for a nice second half and wound up completing 80 percent of his passes. He’ll face the Falcons in Atlanta on Sunday and could have a huge game. The Falcons have a pair of stout corners in Desmond Trufant and Robert Alford but Dan Quinn’s defense is also severely banged-up, missing middle linebacker Deion Jones (who had a huge interception of Brees in Atlanta last season) and safety Keanu Neal. Ranked as our No. 8 QB for Week 3, start Brees on Sunday.
Week 2 vs. Cleveland Browns
Drew Brees completed 37-of-45 passes for 439 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions in the Saints’ upset loss to the Buccaneers in Week 1. Locked into a shocking shootout with Ryan Fitzpatrick, of all quarterbacks, Brees was unbelievable. His touchdowns went to Michael Thomas, Ted Ginn and Alvin Kamara as Sean Payton’s offense was unstoppable. A must-start, Brees is our No. 1 QB this week in his matchup versus the Browns in New Orleans.
