The Saints’ offense has looked promising this season, despite three straight losses at home. They’ll go on the road this week to take on the Giants, and they’ll still be without starting running back Travis Etienne Jr. Without Etienne, the Saints have used a rotation of three running backs, but does it make sense to start either Alvin Kamara or Kendre Miller for your fantasy football team in Week 6?
Let’s take a look at the timeshare and the matchup for Kamara and Miller this week and see if it makes sense to start or sit these Saints this week.
The Timeshare So Far
The Saints were using offseason acquisition Travis Etienne Jr. as their workhorse back to start the season, but he left Week 3’s game with a hamstring injury that resulted in him landing on IR. He has already missed two games and will miss at least two more, with his earliest potential return in Week 9 against the Browns after the team’s Week 8 bye week.
While Etienne is out, Kamara and Miller have shared time in the backfield with CJ Donaldson mixing in. In Week 4, Kamara produced an impressive 22.8 FPTS while playing 38% of snaps and taking seven carries for 23 yards and a pair of touchdowns against the Falcons. However, in a tough matchup against the Vikings in Week 5, the veteran only played 12 snaps (27%) and had 2.6 FPTS on three carries for 12 yards and two catches for a loss of six yards.
In that difficult matchup against Minnesota, it was Miller who had the best fantasy week in Week 5. He had a team-leading 10 carries and managed 30 rushing yards and his second rushing touchdown of the year.
He finished with 9.0 FPTS to match his season-high that he set in Week 1, and he set a new season-high with those 10 carries. Furthermore, he seems to be the preferred early-down option for the Saints and most likely to get goal-line work against the Giants. If the Saints can play from ahead, they could also rely on him to grind out the clock if they’re ahead down the stretch.
It has actually been CJ Donaldson that has led the backfield in snaps over the last two weeks. However, he hasn’t had as many carries or targets. In Week 5, he had four carries for 13 rushing yards against the Vikings and added a seven-yard reception on his only target.
Week 6 Matchup vs. the Giants
The Giants have allowed five touchdowns to running backs through the first five weeks of the season. Running backs have averaged 100.4 rushing yards against them, in addition to 3.4 catches for 18.8 receiving yards. Last week, Jacory Croskey-Merritt had 82 yards and a rushing touchdown against them in the tie against the Commanders.
Since he seems to be growing into a larger role, Miller is a slightly better option than Kamara, whose role was dramatically reduced. The one thing Kamara does have going for him, though, is his experience and production as a receiver out of the backfield, which does give him PPR potential if the Saints have to go pass heavy against New York.
The Bottom Line: Start Kendre Miller as a FLEX in Week 6 in deep leagues, Sit Alvin Kamara
Both backs have touchdown-dependent upside against the Giants. If either one finds the end zone, they’ll be worth a look as a FLEX play. Of the two, Miller seems the more likely option to do that, so I would lean in his direction if forced to start a Saints RB in a FLEX or RB3 spot. If possible, though, the timeshare is best avoided in shallow leagues.
For DFS contests, like this week’s NFL $2.75M Fantasy Football Millionaire [$1M to 1st, $100K Leaderboard Eligible], Miller is $4,600 while Kamara is $5,100. Either could be good value if they find the end zone, but especially since he’s cheaper, Miller would again be my preferred option.
