Michael Thomas, Alvin Kamara, More Fantasy Outlook After Drew Brees' Injury

Fantasy managers may be scrambling to fix their rosters soon in the wake of New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees suffering an injury to his ribs Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers, with Jameis Winston replacing him.

Brees missed five games in 2019 with a thumb injury he suffered in Week 2 against the Los Angeles Rams. The Saints were able to turn to Teddy Bridgewater then, but now the offense will be in Winston's and Taysom Hill's hands.

Head coach Sean Payton clearly believes in Hill as a valuable player in the NFL. The 30-year-old received $16 million guaranteed on his two-year contract signed this offseason. He's never thrown more than seven passes in each of the past two seasons and had a career-high 46 touches in 2019.

Hill played a big role in New Orleans' comeback win over the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 5. He only played 20 snaps but scored the game-tying touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

There are plenty of fantasy questions about Hill, who is currently available in the overwhelming majority of Yahoo leagues and 97 percent of ESPN leagues.

Both Winston and Hill are risky pickups if Brees' injury keeps him out beyond this week. Winston will likely be the starter, like Bridgewater a year ago, but his history of turnovers (30 interceptions last year) makes him tough to trust, even with a tantalizing matchup against the Atlanta Falcons next week.

Consider Winston a high-end QB2 if Brees remains out, while Hill's value will remain as a spot starter at tight end if the bye week has you in a bind.

One player whose status doesn't change regardless of who is at quarterback for the Saints is Michael Thomas. The star wideout, who is going to remain a WR1, has always racked up catches at a ridiculous rate. He led the NFL with 149 receptions and 1,725 yards last season.

Thomas had a modest performance in Week 9, his first game back from injury, with 51 yards and five catches on six targets in New Orleans' 38-3 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Kamara has been Brees' go-to guy to start this season and outside of perhaps only Russell Wilson has been fantasy's MVP halfway through the year. He remains the easiest start in fantasy football.

Latavius Murray stabilized New Orleans' running attack in the wake of Kamara's absence last season. The 30-year-old had back-to-back 100-yard rushing games against the Chicago Bears and Arizona Cardinals. He also had nine receptions and 55 receiving yards on 12 targets against the Cardinals.

Murray remains a significant presence in the offense.

If Payton is splitting carries between his top two running backs, Murray is also good enough to warrant a flex spot.