Derek Carr has been getting hit early and often the past few weeks, and he had to leave the game on Sunday against the Detroit Lions. It has been tough sledding for the New Orleans Saints offense, and Jameis Winston had to come fill in for Carr.
If Carr is unable to go, should Winson be someone fantasy football managers are looking at on the waiver wire?
Should Jameis Winston Be a Fantasy Waiver Wire Add in Week 14?
For the Saints, Carr was surprisingly having a decent day on Sunday. He finished the game 17 of 22 for 226 yards and two touchdowns. Winston spelled him in the second half, finishing 2 of 5 for 41 yards.
Despite being just 5-7, New Orleans is still within striking distance in the NFC South. They are currently tied with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in second place, only one game behind the Atlanta Falcons. Without Carr, though, it’s hard to see this team being able to compete.
There is certainly potency on the offense with talented playmakers like Chris Olave, Taysom Hill, and Alvin Kamara. Winston, however, has shown this year that he hasn’t gotten over the turnover issues that have plagued him early in his career.
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He’s currently 23 of 42 for 223 yards and two touchdowns, but he has also thrown three interceptions. That’s one interception per 14 attempts.
To put that into perspective, Josh Allen currently leads the NFL with 13 interceptions on 433 pass attempts — one per 33.3 passes. While Winston has a much smaller amount of attempts, his turnovers are something alone that should keep fantasy managers away from him.
Besides the fact he struggles with turnovers, the offense just hasn’t been good enough — regardless of who is under center. Through 12 games, the Saints have thrown for only 14 total touchdowns. Even when you look at yardage marks, they aren’t producing a ton of splash plays. Carr is averaging 7.0 yards per attempt, which is tied for 17th among qualified passers.
One area where New Orleans is hurting is it lost true big-play receiver Rashid Shaheed. He was a player who provided the Saints a consistent downfield threat. This opened up the middle of the field for Kamara and Olave.
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For the Saints offense, scoring touchdowns requires long drives. With Winston’s career numbers in mind, this feels like a bad situation. This is where he starts to force the ball into tight windows and put the ball in harm’s way.
When you look at your roster right now, there should be a quarterback on your bench who is better than Winston. There are also going to be some QBs currently on your waiver wire with higher potential. Guys like Joshua Dobbs, Gardner Minshew, or even Matthew Stafford hold a higher fantasy ceiling.
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