Two New Orleans Saints wide receivers will have a chance to step up with the absence of team-leading wide receivers Chris Olave (concussion, ruled out for Week 7) and Rashid Shaheed (knee, out for the season). While both will have expanded opportunities in the short term, Olave will return soon.

This means that one of these receivers has a chance to take on the almost full-time role that speedster Shaheed previously held. It can be difficult to predict players' roles throughout the season when they are both rookies and haven't had a chance to get much game on tape yet.

So should you claim Bub Means or Mason Tipton off waivers before Thursday Night Football?

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If Week 6 was any indication, Means is next man up and should be a priority target in this new-look offense. Although starting quarterback Derek Carr (oblique) didn't play in Week 6 and probably won't play on Thursday, at least rookie backup Spencer Rattler preferred to throw the ball to Means.

Nobody knows what Bub means, but it's provocative!

pic.twitter.com/KcXvAdpRUt

— PlayerProfiler NFL (@Profiler_NFL) October 13, 2024

He also has a legendary name, and while that doesn't affect fantasy production, it's important to find humor in the worst of times. The Saints are currently being decimated by injuries.

The Saints injury report out here looks like a CVS receipt pic.twitter.com/EQ8MCt4uwJ

— Matthew Betz (@TheFantasyPT) October 16, 2024

Still, Means had an excellent game and eight goals is pretty good. He looks like he could play a decent role, at least before Olave returns. Means caught four passes for 45 yards and a touchdown.

The Yale rookie, meanwhile, scored just twice, caught one pass for 15 yards and didn't score. He barely registers on the fantasy radar. While Means was selected in the fifth round of the NFL Draft, Tipton went undrafted out of Yale. It was assumed that he could even be included in the active squad at some point.

One man to keep an eye on following Rashid Shaheed's injury is Mason Tipton.

He is 6 feet tall and weighs 187 pounds. Speed ​​guy. Not as big as Bub Means. Was the first talk in Saints camp, it seems like he could get a chance.

I just hid him in my highest league: 14 tms 3 WRs Triple Flex PPR.

— #AskFFT (@daverichard) October 17, 2024

If you're desperate for receiver depth or want to play in deeper leagues, it makes sense to go with Means. Tipton should probably stay on waivers. However, the offense as a whole is in such poor shape that neither of them can play good games on TNF. If you're going to take a chance on anyone, it should be the one who had four times as many targets as the other.

Big-slot receiver Devaughn Vele has the “best” projected matchup on Thursday Night Football against the Saints.

Bub Means doesn't have a favorable matchup, yet he led the team in the first reading in Week 6. pic.twitter.com/C5bG5A0HKk

– Corbin (@corbin_young21) October 17, 2024

The Broncos field a strong defense. The likely outcome of this game appears to be a low-scoring affair. For most leagues with 12 or fewer teams, there are better options than both.

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