This article is part of our Showdown/Single Game DFS Breakdown series.
Arizona's season is in freefall and Kliff Kingsbury's coaching regime is not long for this league. Steve Keim's GM reign should end at least as soon as the failed Kingsbury experiment, but upper management types have a way of convincing owners that the workers are the problem. That Keim is a virtuoso in failure no doubt made things tougher on Kingsbury, but the truth is that Kingsbury's highly predictable offense had rendered Kyler Murray and the Arizona offense borderline useless, and that was before Marquise Brown suffered a long-term foot injury. DeAndre Hopkins returns from suspension, but Arizona has more questions than answers all the same. With all that said, the Cardinals are favored by 2.5 at press time, perhaps under the reasoning that the Saints are facing an insurmountable number of injuries – CB1 Marshon Lattimore, WR1 Michael Thomas, WR3 Jarvis Landry, TE2 Adam Trautman and LG Andrus Peat are all out. Arizona's injuries are substantial too, though – in addition to Brown they will be without center Rodney Hudson, guard Justin Pugh and edge defender Dennis Gardeck. Kicker Matt Prater and running back James Conner did not practice all week.
QUARTERBACKS
Kyler Murray ($11200 DK, $17000 FD) has had a rough year and it might not get better, but in a one-game slate it's still tough to avoid a dual-threat like him, especially since the Saints are without top corner Marshon Lattimore. Murray just needs his interior line to hold up against
Arizona's season is in freefall and Kliff Kingsbury's coaching regime is not long for this league. Steve Keim's GM reign should end at least as soon as the failed Kingsbury experiment, but upper management types have a way of convincing owners that the workers are the problem. That Keim is a virtuoso in failure no doubt made things tougher on Kingsbury, but the truth is that Kingsbury's highly predictable offense had rendered Kyler Murray and the Arizona offense borderline useless, and that was before Marquise Brown suffered a long-term foot injury. DeAndre Hopkins returns from suspension, but Arizona has more questions than answers all the same. With all that said, the Cardinals are favored by 2.5 at press time, perhaps under the reasoning that the Saints are facing an insurmountable number of injuries – CB1 Marshon Lattimore, WR1 Michael Thomas, WR3 Jarvis Landry, TE2 Adam Trautman and LG Andrus Peat are all out. Arizona's injuries are substantial too, though – in addition to Brown they will be without center Rodney Hudson, guard Justin Pugh and edge defender Dennis Gardeck. Kicker Matt Prater and running back James Conner did not practice all week.
QUARTERBACKS
Kyler Murray ($11200 DK, $17000 FD) has had a rough year and it might not get better, but in a one-game slate it's still tough to avoid a dual-threat like him, especially since the Saints are without top corner Marshon Lattimore. Murray just needs his interior line to hold up against Cam Jordan and company, which is far from a given. Still, even a bad game from Murray could be necessary to cash, if only because he can run for a lot of production in a short amount of time.
We don't know whether it will be Andy Dalton ($9400 DK, $14000 FD) or Jameis Winston ($9600 DK, $14000 FD) at quarterback for the Saints, but whoever it is should be in a decent spot to produce. The Arizona defense is not good, and even without Michael Thomas and Jarvis Landry there should be viable targets for whoever is throwing the ball. The pass blocking, again, is the bigger concern. Taysom Hill ($7200 DK, $10500 FD) is a good bet to poach valuable touches, including short-yardage touchdowns, though his workload is sometimes inconsistent.
RUNNING BACKS
The status of James Conner ($8800 DK, $12000 FD) is unclear, but if he's out then the Cardinals would need to again rely on Eno Benjamin ($8200 DK, $11000 FD) as a workhorse running back. Even if Conner is active he might be limited, so Benjamin should have some substantial role either way. If Conner returns it's difficult to see what use the Cardinals would have for Keaontay Ingram ($400 DK, $6500 FD), who played nine snaps to Benjamin's 62 last week.
Alvin Kamara ($10600 DK, $15000 FD) might be mega-chalk on this slate, but it's tough to fade him all the same. He's a uniquely productive player and a dual-threat RB in a game where a lot of the other would-be biggest names are out with injury. Mark Ingram ($5200 DK, $7500 FD) should probably be on your roster if Kamara is not, because Ingram should play at least 20 snaps and as many as 30.
WIDE RECEIVERS + TIGHT ENDS
The headlining news of this game is probably the return of DeAndre Hopkins ($10200 DK, $12500 FD), who should get out to a fast start with Brown out for Arizona and Lattimore out for the Saints. Hopkins' price seems to be a bit low, perhaps out of caution for the fact that it's his first game after a long layoff, but Hopkins has been practicing and is fully healthy in a strong matchup. It would be an immense failure for the Cardinals if Hopkins has anything less than a decisively strong game in this setting. Rondale Moore ($5800 DK, $9000 FD) also sets up well here and is a standout talent in his own right, though Kingsbury's usage of Moore continues to foolishly restrict him to near the line of scrimmage. It's pitiful to see what A.J. Green ($2600 DK, $7000 FD) has become, but as long as he's playing snaps he could stumble into production, especially with the Saints corners struggling with injury. Rather than Moore, the better bet to be the second-leading target for Arizona might be Zach Ertz ($7000 DK, $10000 FD), who's seen double-digit targets in four of the last five weeks. Trey McBride ($200 DK, $5000 FD) could pop up off the bench, as he's been playing about 20 snaps per game the last three weeks. Greg Dortch ($2000 DK, $6000 FD) might not have many offensive snaps up for grabs but he should be the main Arizona returner, if you wanted to pair him with the Arizona DST.
Chris Olave ($7400 DK, $11000 FD) might be chalky as the clear WR1 for New Orleans, but he might draw most of the attention of top Arizona corner Byron Murphy. Murphy is a standout but so is Olave, and Olave eventually projects to be a better receiver than Murphy is a corner. Olave is simply an uncommon talent. If Olave is slowed in this setting it could lead to more opportunity for Tre'Quan Smith ($6200 DK, $8000 FD) and Marquez Callaway ($4800 DK, $7000 FD). In Week 6 the Saints also doled out 50 snaps to Keith Kirkwood ($800 DK, $5500 FD), 12 to Kevin White ($200 DK), and nine to Rashid Shaheed ($2000 DK, $6000 FD), but it's not clear how those three might see their playing time split in light of Olave's return. Shaheed might be the main returner for the Saints, if you're looking to pair their returner with the Saints DST. Juwan Johnson ($3000 DK, $6500 FD) could be a good value pick with Adam Trautman out at tight end.
KICKERS
If Matt Prater ($4200 DK, $9500 FD) can't play then Rodrigo Blankenship will have to. At least the Saints know who their kicker is – Wil Lutz ($4000 DK, $9500 FD) might be in a good spot here since the Cardinals defense is probably worse than the Saints', even with Lattimore out for the Saints, yet the Saints offense is probably not good enough to reliably score touchdowns if they get into scoring range.
DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS
The over/under dropped from 46 to 43.5, so either or both of the Arizona ($4400 DK, $9000 FD) and Saints ($3400DK, $9000 FD) DSTs could be useful in this game. Both offensive lines are battered, and both passing games have struggled much of the year. With all the moving parts on both offenses, a sluggish game is the expectation and it won't necessarily take good defense to get good defensive results.
