Jameis Winston's Updated Fantasy Outlook After Saints QB Throws 5 TDs vs. Packers

Jameis Winston helped New Orleans Saints fans move on from Drew Brees without much drama Sunday.

In his first start since Brees' retirement, Winston completed 14 of 20 passes for 148 yards and five touchdowns in a 38-3 victory over the Green Bay Packers. It was an electrifying performance for the former Florida State product.

At the very least, it should have fantasy managers questioning where Winston ranks among starting quarterbacks. That answer isn't as simple as it should be.

According to ESPN's fantasy rankings, Winston was the No. 22 starting QB heading to Week 1. While Sunday's performance is sure to bump that up, it remains to be seen by how much—and if playing him will be matchup dependent. Part of the problem is the Saints' use of multiple QBs and packages on offense.

Backup Taysom Hill threw one pass and rushed twice for four total yards Sunday. He's traditionally more involved in the offense than any other QB2 in the league, and it's easy to imagine head coach Sean Payton continuing to rely on him as the year goes on and new wrinkles are added to the playbook.

That's likely a large reason Winston was rostered in just 42 percent of Yahoo leagues and 26 percent of ESPN leagues heading into the season opener, per FantasyPros.

It's also worth considering the abnormality of Sunday's game. The Saints hosted the Packers at Jacksonville's TIAA Bank Field because of Hurricane Ida rendering the Caesars Superdome unusable. According to NOLA.com's Jeff Duncan, one of the factors in selecting the location was how difficult it would be for Packers fans to travel for the game.

Things may look different in more hostile environments for the Saints—which will be the case in Weeks 2 and 3 when they travel to face the Carolina Panthers and New England Patriots, respectively.

Any time a quarterback unleashes five touchdowns in one game, managers are going to immediately seek him out. In this case, use caution before committing too much FAAB or a top waiver selection to add Winston. There's simply not enough evidence yet that he'll be able to keep up this level of production throughout the year.