Drew Brees Starting Makes QB Must-Start Fantasy Option After Return From Injury in Week 8

After missing five straight games due to a thumb injury, Drew Brees will make his long-awaited return in Week 8 against the Arizona Cardinals.

Teddy Bridgewater has performed admirably in Brees' absence, finishing as fantasy football's QB12 across his five starts and leading New Orleans to a 5-0 record, but Brees should be a significant upgrade for the Saints' offense, now that he's back at the helm.

Will Drew Brees Play This Week?

Bridgewater averaged 7.0 yards per attempt during his stead as the Saints' starting QB (tied for No. 21 in the NFL), while Brees hasn't been below 7.1 since 2010. That should lead to a lot more splash plays for an offensive that was hot and cold with Bridgewater under center (the Saints were held under 14 points in two of Teddy's five starts).

Brees might not be quite as dominant as he has been in years past, but he can still be viewed as a rock-solid QB1 for the remainder of the 2019 season.

Drew Brees Fantasy Outlook in Week 8

As for Week 8, Brees couldn't have picked a better opponent to return against. Opposing QBs have a 115.7 passer rating against Arizona, the third-worst mark in the NFL, and the Cardinals have surrendered 17 passing TDs, which is tied for the most in football. Arizona is surrendering the fourth-most fantasy points per game to opposing passers, making Brees a QB1 this weekend.

He also looked really sharp in his lone healthy game on the year, torching the Houston Texans to the tune of 370 passing yards and two TDs while completing 74.4 percent of his passes back in Week 1.

Brees is likely safe to fire up as a top-12 QB option in Week 8. Just keep in mind that the Saints have a Week 9 bye, so it'll be back to the waiver wire for Brees' fantasy owners again next week.

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Max Staley is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Max Staley also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username mstaley1212. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.