Fantasy Football 2010: New Orleans Saints

QB: You can't ask much more out your quarterback than what Drew Brees will give you. The Saint's offense has been #1 in offense in 3 of the last 4 years. Look for them to continue that this year with nearly the same team offensively, minus Mike Bell. Brees has looked good this preseason so far, and is worthy of being selected as 1 of the first 3 QB's selected. I'm sure that nearly everyone in your league will be gunning for him, so take him when you can.

RB: Pierre Thomas has been improving each of the last 2 years, and I look for him to be even better this year with Mike Bell now playing for the Philadelphia Eagles. Some of Thomas's reps will be taken by Lynell Hamilton, especially down by the goal line. Don't let this scare you though, Pierre is still a good pick for a middle round running back.

WR: Marques Colston seems to be completely healed from off-season knee surgery and on the brink of another big year. He cleared 1,000 yards receiving and was just shy of 10 touchdowns last year, and I expect him to be right around those numbers again this year. Colston is worthy of a round 1 selection and is a great #1 receiving option for your team.

TE: Jeremy Shockey isn't the Shockey of old, but still a decent TE. Look for him to lose some playing time to the other TE's on the team this year, but he will still be important for New Orlean's. A lot of people seem to be really high on Shockey and that usually translates to him getting drafted before he should. He's a late round pick and shouldn't be selected before then,

Defense: The Saint's defense is a hard one to judge. Overall they're not the greatest, but they produce a lot of turnovers and turnovers for touchdowns. There aggressive approach is enough to have them ranked as my 7th overall defense. They've still got the players that make the big plays and that should vow well into scoring points for your fantasy team.

Sleeper: A lot of people think Robert Meachem is going to take a big step back this year. I might be in the majority thinking that Meachem is going to keep it up this year. The off-season toe surgery will make him take a step back, but I still think Meachem will put up 6 or 7 touchdowns and have around 600 yards. The problem with Meachem is that a lot of people will expect him to repeat last year, and they will take him early as potentially their #1 receiver. Don't be that guy or girl that makes this mistake. He is realistically a stretch for a #2 but more likely a #3 receiver on your team.

I'm looking for the Saints to have another magical year. They had very little turnover and whenever Drew Brees is your quarterback, it's going to be tough to contain. I don't expect the defense to make as many huge plays this year, but they will still have their moments. They were the best coming out of last season, and I still think their the best team coming into this season.