Photo: Kirby Lee, USA Today Sports

Nick Foles was lost in Week 1 and now Ben Roethlisberger and Drew Brees join the fray of missing starters. The Saints and Steelers are on the main slate this week. What are your thoughts on the Saints offense as a whole, Teddy Bridgewater, and the main DFS options of Alvin Kamara, Michael Thomas, and Jared Cook as plays in Week 3.

Are you bold enough to mix in some Saints stacks?

The Steelers are touchdown underdogs in San Francisco after a promising relief appearance by Mason Rudolph. Are you diving into JuJu Smith-Schuster or Vance McDonald after bounce-back games in Week 2?

Phil Alexander

The Saints stack is somewhat interesting to me in GPPs, but it won't be a high-exposure play since Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara are still priced as if Drew Brees is the starter in New Orleans. Thomas saw 13 targets from Bridgewater last week, so he looks safe for his usual high volume role in a plus matchup against Seattle's leaky secondary.

We just don't know enough about Bridgewater's tendencies to have a clear read on how much Brees' absence dings Kamara. The uncertainty and high price should drive Kamara's tournament ownership down far enough to make betting on his talent a worthwhile endeavor.

I want nothing to do with Mason Rudolph on the road against the 49ers defensive line, though McDonald, Smith-Schuster, and possibly Rudolph's college teammate James Washington, are good enough tournament darts with Pittsburgh expected to be playing from behind.

Dan Hindery

I’m avoiding both of these teams for now. I don’t like the matchups and the top weapons are overpriced considering the downgrades at quarterback. If we get to the weekend and Steve has the GPP ownership projected super low, then maybe it becomes worth playing some of these guys in tournaments but it just feels like we can get way more bang for our buck elsewhere.

The one possible exception is James Washington. He is priced extremely low ($5,200 on FanDuel, $3,500 on DraftKings) and makes sense as a tournament option. As Phil mentioned, he has played with Rudolph for the past five season going back to their college careers at Oklahoma State and should have a nice rapport built up. He is the type of cheap WR3 that is worth targeting in tournaments because of his ability to make good on his salary with one long touchdown. Figure he gets at least one or two deep targets and it isn’t hard to see a path to success.

Justin Bonnema

It all depends on how Sean Payton will manage this team without Brees. In theory, he could go completely conservative and hope to still be .500 when Brees returns, especially considering that the NFC South is looking rather weak after two games. That could mean a lot more work for Latavius Murray and a slight ding to Kamara and all receivers. It could also lead to more work for Taysom Hill.

Jason Wood

I need to preface my response by saying I'm primarily a cash game player. In cash games, I don't view the Saints or the Steelers are smart plays this week. There's too much downside risk. But for GPP folks, particularly those who field multiple (10+) lineups, there's logic in stacking both teams. I suspect the Saints will go run-heavy, which makes a Kamara/Murray stack interesting because it'll be low-owned (Murray is on the outs by the consensus) and has a chance for huge numbers. Pittsburgh still has a proven system, great offensive line, and experienced skill players so a Rudolph-led stack could also pay off. Of the two, I'm more confident in Rudolph keeping the Steelers passing game afloat than I am Bridgewater. Bridgewater's reputation exceeds his real-life production. He ranks just 73rd in fantasy points per game among qualified quarterbacks over the last decade.

James Brimacombe

I will not be looking at Saints stacks as I am not even sure if Teddy Bridgewater will be the guy moving forward. If the Saints offense is staggering at all anytime during a game we could see more and more of Taysom Hill in trying to light up the offense with his dual-threat abilities. I do think Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara are still decent plays because they will demand targets in any game script. The problem now is that those targets might be much shorter ones and maybe less accurate as well.