PFF
WR/CB matchups to target
Chris Olave (75.4 PFF receiving grade) has failed to clear 15.0 half-PPR points since Week 1, but Week 8 offers a bounce-back opportunity against an Indianapolis secondary missing Nos. 1 and 2 perimeter cornerbacks
Dallis Flowers (70.1 PFF coverage grade, injured reserve) and
JuJu Brents (67.7 PFF coverage grade, Week 7 quadriceps strain). Olave is a back-end WR1 with long-touchdown upside.
Indianapolis’ opponents average 72.6 offensive plays per game against them, the second most in the NFL.
New Orleans’ interior offensive line’s matchup is made easier by starting nose tackle
Grover Stewart‘s (64.1 PFF pass-rush grade, suspension) and backup
Eric Johnson’s (62.4 PFF pass-rush grade, ankle sprain) looming absences.
Olave’s elite usage signals an impending fantasy-point outpouring. Among 34 NFL wide receivers with at least 140 first-read receiving snaps, Olave’s 58 first-read targets ranks second and his 28.6% first-read target rate ranks seventh.
Olave’s 61.1% pre-snap-alignment perimeter rate grants access to cornerbacks
Darrell Baker Jr. (29.5 PFF perimeter-coverage grade) and
Jaylon Jones (58.6 PFF perimeter-coverage grade). Among 67 cornerbacks with at least 55 perimeter coverage snaps, Baker ranks outside the top 60 in targeted rate (39.7%), yards allowed per coverage snap (3.98) and explosive pass plays allowed rate (10.3%). Jones is an inexperienced seventh-round rookie.
Olave’s 4.39-second 40-yard-dash speed and sixth-ranked 28.4% deep-target rate pair perfectly with Indianapolis’ 19 explosive pass plays allowed to opposing wide receivers on 15-plus-yard downfield targets, tying for the sixth most in the NFL.
Among 57 NFL safeties with at least 25 wide receiver coverage snaps on 15-plus-yard downfield targets, Indianapolis free safety
Rodney Thomas II’s (59.0 PFF coverage grade) 6.5% explosive pass plays allowed rate is the eighth highest.
New Orleans’ near-league-leading target earner is a half-PPR WR1 against Indianapolis’ vulnerable secondary.