2013 new orleans saints Fantasy Preview
Drew Brees (1st - 345.58 points) didn't have coach Sean Payton, but it didn't stop him from scoring more fantasy points than any other player last season. He continues to be one of the most productive and consistent players in fantasy football and will be one of the first quarterbacks selected in 2013 drafts. Brees was one of three Saints to finish in the top 12 in points at their respective positions, joining wideout Marques Colston (11th - 171.40 points) and tight end Jimmy Graham (1st - 152.20 points). That's to be expected in an offense that is always one of the most prolific units in the league. The backfield was led by Darren Sproles (22nd - 141.10 points), who scored 44.20 fewer points compared to his 2011 totals but was still a star in PPR formats. Pierre Thomas (32nd - 94.70 points) and Mark Ingram (33rd - 93.10 points) were too inconsistent to trust in most starting lineups.
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Drew
Brees
QB - Saints
Aside from the fact that the Saints will have Payton back on the sidelines, there won't be a lot of change with this team in 2013. Seneca Wallace and Luke McCown were added to compete for the second spot on the depth chart behind Brees. Benjamin Watson will back up Graham and won't see enough opportunities to make a statistical impact. He'll replace Dave Thomas on the roster. The trade that sent Chris Ivory to the New York Jets will improve the value of Ingram and Thomas in the backfield. On the defensive side of the football, rookie SS Kenny Vaccaro, LB Victor Butler and S Jim Leonhard were the two biggest additions. That's not enough to help a unit that ranked just 23rd in fantasy points among defenses this past season.
It's going to be tough for any major sleepers to emerge in an offense that has so many established stars, but fantasy owners should keep tabs on the duo of Joe Morgan and Nick Toon during training camp. Both have some upside with a star like Brees under center, especially if either Colston or Lance Moore go down with an ailment. Sproles in the lone runner in this backfield to trust, but an expected increase in the running game will put Ingram in a good position to have his best NFL season in the stat sheets. He should be drafted as a fourth runner.
| POS | FIRST | SECOND | THIRD | OTHER |
| QB | Drew Brees | Luke McCown | Seneca Wallace | Ryan Griffin |
| RB | Darren Sproles | Mark Ingram | Pierre Thomas | Travaris Cadet |
| WR | Marques Colston | Lance Moore | Joe Morgan | Chris Givens |
| TE | Jimmy Graham | Benjamin Watson | Mike Higgins | Keavon Milton |
| K | Garrett Hartley | Jose Maltos | - | - |
( ) Projected Round
| # | Name | Pos. Rank |
| 1 | Drew Brees | 2 |
| 2 | Jimmy Graham | 1 |
| 3 | Marques Colston | 13 |
| 4 | Darren Sproles | 27 |
| 5 | Mark Ingram | 35 |
Photo Gallery
Top 30 Fantasy PlayersDrew Brees was fantasy football's highest-scoring player in 2012. Would that be good enough to make him the top-ranked fantasy football player leading into the 2013 season? View
