Thursday Night Football: Broncos vs. Saints is available on Amazon Prime Video at 8:20 PM ET/5:20 PM PT.
I should have known it would happen eventually. Thursday Night Football finally went back to its roots, giving us the worst matchup of Week 7. The 3-3 Denver Broncos will face the 2-4 New Orleans Saints. Let’s talk about tape (maybe).
Which rookie quarterback will shine better?
OK, that headline is misleading. I think Bo Nix will have a much better game than Spencer Rattler.
Of course, it’s not fair to compare the two. After all, Knicks has started every game for the team this season, with Rattler assuming the starting role after Derek Carr went down. Not to mention, Rattler will be without Chris Olave (concussion) and Rashid Shahid (out for the season after undergoing knee surgery) on Thursday. Good game for a rookie QB just making his second start against an opposing head coach who is as good as Alvin Kamara but is definitely hungry to play against a tough defense and his former team. It’s hard to have expectations.
So let’s focus on the Knicks.
The 12th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft has proven to be that rare “fantasy better than reality” QB. He’s coming off his second consecutive 20-plus point fantasy outing, and he’s doing it because of his legs. Knicks has already scored three rushing touchdowns this season and rushed for a season-high 61 yards in Week 6. That aspect of his game is expected to continue in Week 7 against the Saints’ strong pass rush.
Of course, that pass rush didn’t exactly help against the opponent’s run game. Speaking of which…
Will Javonte Williams finally show up?
The Saints lead the league in rushing yards per carry allowed. Granted, that number was further inflated after what Sean Tucker and Bucky Irving did against them, but the Saints were able to allow their running backs to have solid to great games for the fourth straight week.
If ever there was a game where Javonte Williams delivered a fantasy-friendly performance, this is it.
Williams had an ADP of 94.1 and was a prime RB target in 2024. As a player considered to be the starter in an offense that could break out rookie quarterbacks, it wasn’t hard to imagine Williams’ RB2 upside, especially since he’s healthy.
But things don’t work out that way. Whether it’s because of handing over the job to Jahlil McLaughlin or the generally disappointing nature of the Broncos’ offense (which always seems to be underdogs even in games they win), Williams has been disappointing overall. But we just watched an unheralded Tucker completely destroy this Saints defense on the ground and through the air. It’s not that hard to imagine that Williams, who tied for fifth among running backs in catches this season and was an incredible force in the air, couldn’t repeat that performance. This could be one of the few game scripts where Williams can pull off a solid fantasy day, and if he does, it could be against an opposing team (relatively ) a season that should provide an opportunity for a high-priced sale.
Starter: Juwan Johnson, TE, Saints (4% enrollment)
As a preface, buy this week’s Saints offense at your own risk. There’s a screaming Alvin Kamara Carey in this game (and some Taysom Hill shenanigans if he’s healthy, but it’s doubtful he’ll play in this game).
But we’re talking about the tight end position here. Most of us will get all we can get.
Johnson has been pretty solid, if not boring, for the Saints over the past two weeks. He has 11 targets in the last three games and has caught three passes for the second straight game (up from five in Week 5). The Broncos have a strong defense centered around the secondary, but will be without All-World corner Patrick Surtain II (concussion) for this game. Since Week 2, the Broncos have allowed four or more catches at the tight end position four times, including a monster day from Brock Bowers (8-97-1) in Week 5.
With Rattler still learning the ropes and the Saints missing their two main receivers, Johnson is a major streaming option for fantasy football managers desperately looking for something from the TE spot.
