Fleener hits IR

The Saints on Saturday placed TE Coby Fleener on IR following the concussion he suffered in Week 12. The team promoted TE Garrett Griffin from the practice squad to join Josh Hill and Michael Hoomanawanui on the active roster. Hill stands the best chance of gaining fantasy relevance, but no Saints TE has done so with any regularity this season. Don't bet on anything big here.

The Saints have released TE Coby Fleener. Frankly, we're surprised this move wasn't made earlier in the offseason. Fleener totaled just 72 catches and 5 TDs across 27 appearances over the past 2 years in New Orleans. He sustained what he said was the 5th concussion of his career last season and will turn 30 in September. Fleener figures to get a shot elsewhere but is a poor bet for 2018 fantasy relevance. The Saints, meanwhile, are left with Ben Watson and Josh Hill atop the depth chart. Watson looks like the early favorite for targets, despite going on 38 years old. He caught 61 balls in Baltimore last year and posted a big 74-825-6 line with the Saints back in 2015.

Saints TE Coby Fleener (concussion) is out for Sunday’s game against the Panthers. Josh Hill figures to serve as New Orleans’ lead TE but isn’t a fantasy option.

Saints TE Coby Fleener sustained a concussion in the 4th quarter of Sunday's game against the Rams. We'll keep an eye on Fleener's progress through the protocol this week, but he's been off the fantasy radar for a while now.

Saints insider Larry Holder writes that TE Coby Fleener hasn't been on the "same page" as QB Drew Brees on some routes this summer. "The Saints yearn for more from Fleener," Holder adds. That last line tells us that Fleener has at least been a bit disappointing so far, but also that New Orleans wants him to be a big part of the offense. That his chemistry still needs work with Brees in August isn't a big surprise. There's still big fantasy upside here. Perhaps some negative press will lower Fleener's 6th-round ADP.

TE Coby Fleener admits that he's still a "work in progress" in the Saints' offense. HC Sean Payton agrees. "There's some plays that are real good, and then there's some plays where we've got to be a little bit more detailed and that's something that I know he's got to work on," Payton said. It sounds like Fleener's biggest issues right now are run blocking and pass protection. Those have never been his strengths. Fleener was brought to New Orleans to catch footballs. Insider Josh Katzenstein confirms that Fleener is "clearly the top tight end for the passing game." He remains a nice mid-range TE1 with upside.