The New Orleans Saints already weren’t anyone’s bet to win it all. But for fantasy football, they have a couple of weapons that make managers excited. Let’s take a look at the Spencer Rattler news and how it impacts each of the weapons in the offense for fantasy football 2025.
Spencer Rattler Named the Saints Starter – Fantasy Football Fallout
Spencer Rattler – Stock Up
It’s pretty straightforward: a starting quarterback is more useful than a backup. With the early draft capital spent on Tyler Shough, a lot of people expected him to have the inside track to start. But Rattler is getting the nod for at least the first week, and as long as he plays at a manageable level, he’ll continue to start. His leash will be short, and expectations should remain low. He’s only a target for superflex leagues as a desperation QB2.
Chris Olave – Stock Up
The quarterback situation in New Orleans will continue to hold Olave back, but this is good news for Olave. This writer charted four games from Tyler Shough in 2024, and he threw the ball at a short range almost 50% of his throws. Olave is a boom/bust deep threat and should benefit ever so slightly from Rattler’s gunslinger mentality. He’s still a WR3, but the upside week-to-week is more likely to come to life.
Rashid Shaheed – Stock Up
Copy and paste the Olave write-up here. Except at a much cheaper cost, and with similar upside each week. Shaheed has been a forgotten name in this fantasy cycle because of his injury in 2024, but all signs are pointing up for him in the early part of the 2025 season. He’s a dynasty buy for his cheap price and his ability to get open down the field.
Saints Tight Ends – Stock Down
They’re all dealing with injuries, and the best case scenario for this QB battle for fantasy was a Taysom Hill miracle recovery. It’s unlikely any were being drafted before this news, and they remain DFS dart throws at best.
Alvin Kamara – Stock Down
Shough’s checkdown tendencies would have been better for Kamara, and with Shough’s limited experience Kamara may have been on the receiving end of plenty of targets. With Rattler in, he’s still going to get his fair share, but there will be less last-minute PPR scam tosses and he’ll rely on his designed touches. With the offense as bad as it is, he’s going to be a volume-dependent RB2 with limited upside.
Tyler Shough – Stock Down
Not playing games doesn’t help fantasy football. This may be better for his long-term career, but Rattler is actually a year younger than Shough. It’s unclear how much time the Saints plan to let Shough sit and develop, especially behind a player who is younger than him. It wouldn’t shock anyone if this team is drafting early in 2026, and they may already have their sights set on some of the best quarterbacks in the 2026 NFL draft class. For dynasty, redraft, and best ball, Shough was a tough pick and he’ll hope to see game action before long.
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