Good morning. After the endless Broncos primetime games, tonight's Cardinals v Saints feels like a Super Bowl matchup. But it's a Thursday night and I don't want to get my hopes up.

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DEEP DIVES

The idea is you pick up a player the week before everyone wants to grab them off the waiver wire. This column wins leagues like no other. Last week, the perfect pickup was Deon Jackson, the RB1 of Week 6. This week's players, available in almost every league, worth grabbing:

• Gus Edwards (5.5%) - Edwards averages 5.2 yards per carry for his career and was heavily involved in the Ravens offense in 2020 (before tearing his ACL and missing 2021). Adam Schefter on Monday Night Football Countdown: “I think Gus Edwards is going to play Sunday and make an impact.” Last time he was on the field, Edwards beat Dobbins in PFF's rushing grade, ranking 5th in that category among 64 RBs with 70+ carries in 2020.

• Sony Michel (2.7%) - Chargers backup RB Joshua Kelley is expected to miss multiple weeks, vaulting Sony into the RB2 role. Ekeler has only seen over 60% of snaps twice this year, so the RB2 has a legit role with upside for more. Michel had 42 yards on 11 touches in Kelley's absence last week.

• Terrace Marshall (0.3%) - It is hard to get excited about any Panthers player that isn't CMC, but Marshall is expected to be the biggest beneficiary in the Robbie Anderson trade. Carolina drafted him in the 2nd round in last year's draft and he finally has a path to significant snap share. But there's also this meme...

Cade Otton is Tom Brady's top TE until Cameron Brate returns (concussion). "In Week 5, Otton logged a 94% snap share, a team-leading 93% route share, and 7 targets for a 13% target share. Otton is a huge value in his current role, with Tampa once again throwing the ball at a top-5 rate in the NFL", per @JakeTribbey's DFS Early Look article.

Also, no one is talking about Amari Rodgers - with Randall Cobb is out for multiple weeks, Rodgers took the place of Cobb working out of the slot. He played 22 offensive snaps last week and could be relied upon more going forward if he has a strong showing.

THURSDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

Saints take on Kyler Murray and the Cards

Both the Cardinals and Saints had high expectations coming into the season. And both have disappointed (2-4 records). The Saints are injured on O and D, while the Cardinals have struggled without DeAndre Hopkins. Who's back.

Passing:

• Kyler Murray - A better fantasy QB (QB6 overall) than a real life QB (19th in QBR), Murray gets Hopkins back for the first time this season. He's a top 10 QB against a soft Saints defense.

• Andy Dalton - Dalton has thrown for over 200 yards once in his 3 starts this year with a 3:2 TD to turnover ratio. He'll be without Michael Thomas and Jarvis Landry, while Taysom Hill steals TDs.

Rushing:

• Alvin Kamara - Despite two straight over 100 yards from scrimmage games, Kamara still hasn't scored a TD. He will continue to be relied upon given the injuries to Saints WR, making him an obvious RB1 play against the Cardinals.

• Eno Benjamin - Benjamin will be the workhorse back again, as James Connor (game-time decision) and Darrell Williams are expected to sit. He disappointed managers last week with only 65 total yards but elite usage makes Eno a high upside play.

Receiving:

• Chris Olave - After suffering a concussion, Olave has been cleared and should be Dalton's top option. Olave averages 78 receiving yards per game and has scored 2 TDs in his past 3 games. Must start.

• DeAndre Hopkins - Makes his season debut Thursday night against a Saints defense that got burned by JaMarr Chase. Marshon Lattimore is still out, which bolds well for Hopkins having an immediate impact. Remember, Hopkins is healthy and was juicing last year. Expect big things.

• Rondale Moore - Moore had 10 targets last week, and yes Hopkins will take some targets from Moore, as long as Marquise Brown is out, Moore will be a top 3 option in the offense.

• Zach Ertz - Ertz has seen 10 targets in 2 straight games and was 8th in the NFL in air yards in week 6. He's 5th among TE's in receiving yards over the past 4 weeks making him an elite TE play.

QUICK SLANTS

• Aaron Rodgers missed practice on Wednesday dealing with a thumb injury but stated on the Pat McAfee show that he is still going to play on Sunday.

• Jameis Winston and Andy Dalton were removed from the injury report but it is likely that Dalton starts although, HC Dennis Allen has yet to confirm.

• Keenan Allen practiced on Wednesday, putting him on track to play in Week 7. Without much concern for his frustrated fantasy owners, Allen also said that he is taking another week off to fully heal, since they have a bye Week 8.

• Pat Freiermuth missed Week 6 (concussion) but returned to practice and is expected to play this week.

• Mark Andrews has run 196 routes this year & hasn't been asked to pass-block once. Not one single snap.

If you're looking for a podcast today, @adamlevitan went team-by-team with @evansilva, talking about the most important #FantasyFootball things we saw in Week 6 and what it means going forward. You can listen here.

Thanks for joining us this AM, see y'all tomorrow.

Jake, Eddie, Matt & Coach Wehler

Tweet of the Day

Aaron promises he's doing his best.