Week 8 vs. Seattle
Drew Brees completed 37-of-48 passes for 367 yards with three touchdowns and one interception in the Saints Week 7 loss to the Chiefs. Brees is now on pace for 5,603 yards, which would break Peyton Manning's single-season record of 5,477 yards in 2013. He has a touchdown pass in every game this season and has thrown for over 800 yards in his last two games combined.
Brees has a tough matchup on Sunday against the Seahawks, but the Saints have scored at least 26 points in 10 straight home games. Brees continues to post bigger numbers at the Superdome than on the road and is a must-start in all fantasy formats. Despite the difficultly of the matchup, he ranks as our QB6 for Week 8.
Week 7 at Kansas City Chiefs
Drew Brees completed 34-of-49 passes for 465 yards with four touchdowns and one interception in the Saints Week 6 victory over the Panthers. Carolina was so depleted at the cornerback position that the team never switched to nickel coverage. Brees predictably took advantage of linebackers on his receivers, tight ends and running backs to rack up big fantasy numbers. The veteran signal-caller has now thrown for 1,734 yards and 14 touchdown passes to just four interceptions, all while completing 66.7-percent of his passes.
Brees remains a must-start in all fantasy formats, although his stock takes a slight dip when he and the Saints play outdoors and on the road. New Orleans travels to Kansas City this week to take on the Chiefs, who rank eighth against fantasy quarterbacks this season. Brees is our QB8 for Week 7.
Week 6 vs. Carolina
Drew Brees completed 23-of-36 passes for 206 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions in the Saints victory over the Chargers two weeks ago. Brees struggled with his accuracy for much of the game and threw what could have amounted to a back-breaking interception in the fourth quarter, but he did enough to rally the Saints to a victory in the end. Now on pace for 5,072 yards with 40 touchdowns, he remains a must-start in all fantasy formats. We currently have him ranked as our QB4 and needs to be in your lineup in what should be a shootout between the Saints and Panthers at the Superdome.
Week 4 at San Diego
Drew Brees completed 36-of-54 pass attempts for 376 yards with three touchdowns and an interception in the Saints' Week 3 loss to the Falcons. If it weren't for Brees, the Saints would have been long out of the game by the time the fourth quarter came around, but the signal-caller kept attacking Atlanta's defense until the closing minutes. Brees targeted tight end Coby Fleener and rookie receiver Michael Thomas 11 times apiece on the night. The interception came when rookie corner Brian Poole jumped a slant route, knocked the ball into the air and straight into the arms of linebacker Deion Jones, who returned the gift 90 yards for a back-breaking pick-six.
Brees will face a Chargers defense that ranks No. 24 versus fantasy quarterbacks. He's our QB4 and is a must-start in all formats.
Week 3 vs. Atlanta
Drew Brees completed 29-of-44 passes for 263 yards with one touchdown in the Saints' Week 2 loss to the Giants. It was an underwhelming performance in a game that had an over/under of 52.5 points at kickoff. Brees didn't throw his first touchdown until early in the fourth quarter when he hit Willie Snead on a 17-yard scoring play. Even though the numbers disappointed Brees owners, he should bounce back on Monday night when the Saints host the Falcons. Atlanta currently owns the No. 6 fantasy pass defense but the Falcons have no pass rush and usually have troubling slowing down Brees. In 2015, the Saints' QB completed 62-of-81 pass attempts for 635 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions versus the Falcons.
Week 2 at New York Giants
Drew Brees was outstanding in the Saints Week 1 loss to the Raiders, completing 28-of-42 passes for 424 yards and four touchdowns with no picks. Outside of losing a fumble on the third play of the game, Brees was perfect. He had touchdown passes of 1 yard to Willie Snead, 15 and 98 yards to Brandin Cooks, and 2 yards to Travaris Cadet while finishing as the top passer in the NFL for Week 1.
Ranked as our QB5 for Week 2, start Brees against a Giants team that owns the No. 26-ranked fantasy pass defense. New York looks to be improved on defense but Brees is a must-start every week, especially with New Orleans likely to play in shootouts every week.
Week 1 vs. Oakland
Fresh off receiving a new two-year, $44.25 million deal from the Saints, Drew Brees is a must-start in Week 1 for fantasy owners. He threw for 4,870 yards on 428-of-627 passing, with 32 touchdowns and just 11 interceptions in 2015 and shows zero signs of slowing down at age 37. Armed with a few new weapons in the passing game (Coby Fleener and Michael Thomas), plus a few familiar faces (Brandin Cooks, Willie Snead, Mark Ingram), Brees is our QB4 for Week 1.
Fantasy Upside
Playing for the first time without top target Jimmy Graham after the tight end was traded to Seattle in the offseason, Drew Brees finished his 15th NFL season by passing for 4,850 yards and 32 touchdowns. For comparison sake, he finished as fantasy's QB6 in 2014 and matched that ranking last year despite not having Graham. Although he suffered a shoulder injury in Week 3, Brees improved his yards-per-attempt mark slightly from 7.5 in 2014 to 7.8 in 2015. He also completed over 68 percent of his passes for a third straight season. This past offseason, the Saints added two new weapons for Brees to throw to in former Colts tight end Coby Fleener (a free agent) and second-round pick Michael Thomas, a receiver out of Ohio State. Fleener and Thomas join an arsenal that already includes Brandin Cooks and Willie Snead.
Fantasy Downside
Brees is 37 and did miss a game for the first time in seven seasons when a shoulder injury kept him out of a Week 3 loss to the Panthers. At his age, there's no telling when the signal-caller's production will fall off a cliff and leave fantasy owners scrambling for a replacement. The Saints also face some tough defenses in 2016, mainly Carolina (twice), Seattle, Kansas City, Denver, Arizona and Los Angeles, which sacked Brees four times in a 2013 victory in St. Louis.
2016 Bottom Line
Even at 37, Brees doesn't appear ready to slow down and remains a top-5 fantasy quarterback. His current ADP is 6.09 for 10-team leagues and ranks as our QB5 behind only Cam Newton, Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers and Andrew Luck. The Saints do face a tough schedule in 2016, but Sean Payton remains one of the best play-callers and offensive schemers in the league. Plus the additions of Fleener and Thomas should only help Brees maintain his fantasy production.
Week 17 at Atlanta
Showing no ill-effects from a foot injury suffered the week before, Drew Brees completed 25-of-36 passes for 412 yards with three touchdowns in the Saints' Week 16 win over the Jaguars. Despite playing through a torn plantar fascia, Brees carved up Jacksonville by hitting Brandin Cooks and Travaris Cadet for long scores. Clearly not hampered by the foot injury, Brees is our QB4 for Week 17 and should be in your lineup when the Saints visit the Falcons on Sunday.
Week 16 vs. Jacksonville
Drew Brees completed 34-of-52 passes for 341 yards and three touchdowns in the Saints Week 15 loss to the Lions. He also suffered a foot injury in the second quarter that later required an MRI on Tuesday and forced him into a protective boot following the game. Asked Wednesday about the availability of his quarterback for Sunday's matchup with the Jaguars, coach Sean Payton said, "Before I let you guys know, it'll be Sunday morning." When asked who would be under center if Brees doesn't play, Payton responded: "We'll find out Sunday." Brees owners need to have a backup plan well ahead of Sunday's games. Tyrod Taylor, Derek Carr, Kirk Cousins, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Alex Smith are decent options that could still be on waiver wires. If the Saints announce that Brees is playing, he's a QB1 with a great matchup versus a Jacksonville defense that ranks No. 29th against fantasy quarterbacks this season. If he doesn't, fantasy owners need to be prepared to go with their next-best option instead of scrambling at the last second.
