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So far this fantasy football season, owners who drafted Marques Colston have been undoubtedly disappointed with his performance, ranking 74th in wide receivers in standard scoring formats, behind the likes of Riley Cooper, Nate Washington and Brian Hartline. He has 26 yards in his last two games combined and hasn’t topped 10 fantasy points since week one.
Despite all that, this weekend the New Orleans Saints host the Buffalo Bills and Colston could be in for a big day. Don’t forget that Colston has eclipsed the 1,000 yard mark in six of his seven seasons. He has had at least 70 receptions in every season except for 2008, where he missed five games, and Drew Brees is still the quarterback throwing him the ball.
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The story this week from the Big Easy is that Jimmy Graham is still not back to 100 percent health and is shaping up to be a game time call. Even if he plays, Graham is expected to be on a limited snap count, meaning an increased role for not only Colston, but Darren Sproles as well. Buffalo ranks 26th in passing defense and their secondary is too small to be able to contain Colston, as Colston has a six inch height and twenty pound weight advantage on Jarius Byrd and a three inch, thirty pound advantage on Stephon Gilmore.
We all know that the Saints are a pass first team, evidenced by Brees’ seventh place ranking in pass attempts per game, fifth in passes completed per game and fifth place ranking in passing touchdowns. The Saints also rank fifth in passing offense. With Graham limited, it would make sense for Sean Peyton to look to get one of his most reliable receivers more involved in the offense. Graham might be the best pass catcher in the entire league, but Colston is the best wide receiver the Saints have.
Averaging slightly more than eight touchdowns per season, Colston has traditionally been a slow starter to the season who turns it up later in the year. With his main competitor for targets being limited this week against a weak Buffalo passing defense, don’t be surprised if Colston starts to heat up on Sunday.
As always, I welcome your comments. If you think I’m wrong, I’m willing to listen. Just back it up with some facts and solid evidence. Thanks for reading and good luck this season.
Dustin Manko is an author at Rant Sports.com. Follow him on Twitter @DustinManko, ”Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google
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