The Saints finally did what they needed to do. The New Orleans Saints and Sean Payton named QB Jameis Winston as the starting quarterback. He exceled in last week’s preseason game, and showed why he is clearly the best passer on the roster. Winston finished the game with 9/10 passing with 123 yards and 2 touchdowns with only a quarter of play. This is a great sign for every skill-position player on this team, and Winston himself should have streaming value as well. If you are looking to wait on the position, Winston could be a great value with the last pick of the draft. QB Taysom Hill will be the backup, but he could still find himself in the goal line wildcat role that he has occupied for so long. Hill will also not have the same opportunity to be started in the tight end position that he had last season, so I would advise letting the Taysom Hill Experiment go, and get on board the Post-Lasik Jameis Express. In all seriousness, I have Winston ranked as my No. 19 QB, cementing himself firmly in the streaming category.

RB Alvin Kamara has cemented himself into the Top-5 of every fantasy draft, and that is where he should be going. With Hill under center last season, Kamara saw a huge downtick in targets, receptions and receiving yards per game, but that concern is now behind us with Winston being named the starter. Kamara was incredibly productive with Winston under center last year, and he should be in prime position to rack up a huge number of targets, and he could even compete with RB Christian McCaffery to be the leader for the position. If you are drafting this week, I would look to take Kamara third overall behind McCaffery and RB Dalvin Cook.

RB Latavius Murray is one of my favorite targets at the end of drafts this year. I never project injuries when I play fantasy football, but they are a part of the game. If Kamara were to ever get hurt, Murray would step in and be at least a RB2 from the start. This year is one of the most difficult years to secure solid bench depth at the running back position, and having someone like Murray on your team, could win you a league.

How about this, we are going to start this section off talking about someone other than WR Michael Thomas. WR Marquez Callaway put on a show in last week’s preseason game. Winston was looking for him early and often, and he was making plays all over the field. Callaway caught all 5 of his targets for 104 yards and 2 touchdowns in just 1 quarter of play. Callaway consistently created separation, and made game-breaking plays throughout his time on the field. Callaway is shooting up the draft boards, and could be one of the best values in all of fantasy football.

Callaway is going to see plenty of opportunity early in the season, and that’s mostly because of the absence of former receiving leader Michael Thomas. Thomas has been a pain in my side for over a year now, and I think I have decided my philosophy for him this year. I am not picking him, and if he does end up coming back and being his old self, then so be it. I don’t want to deal with the weekly stress and disappointed that Thomas brings, and I’m willing to sacrifice some of his upside to not deal with it again. If you want to take on that burden, so be it, but if you don’t have an IR spot, it is going to be a huge burden to use a bench spot on him.

Fans of TE Adam Trautman took a big sigh of relief when the news broke that Trautman avoided a serious injury. Trautman could potentially be ready for week 1, but with his situation still up in the air, I would keep him on the waiver wire for now. However, he is someone to keep an eye on throughout the season, and he could quickly become one of Winston’s favorite targets when he finds his way onto the field. Keep holding strong to Trautman in dynasty, as he is having some of the highest potential to break out in the next couple of years.

The naming of Jameis Winston as the starter for this squad brings a lot of hope to a handful of players on this roster. Alvin Kamara and Marquez Callaway should see the biggest uptick in production due to this decision, but Adam Trautman, Latavius Murray, and even WR Tre ‘Quan Smith could find some areas to thrive in this offense. Overall, the outlook for this team is much more promising than it has been since the announcement of Drew Brees’ retirement and Michael Thomas’ injury.

End.