Bucs at Saints: What To Watch For In Week 8

On the Buccaneer defense, how about the season Tykee Smith is having? He leads Tampa Bay with 58 tackles and has two sacks, four tackles for loss, seven passes defensed and a fumble recovery. The only thing that’s really missing is his first interception of the year, and that very well could come on Sunday he returns to the site of his first career interception and faces the quarterback he picked off for it. He is PFF’s second-highest-graded Tampa Bay defender with a 75.7, and his 82.9 run defense and 90.1 pass rush grades stand out in particular. The player to watch on the Saints offense is going to be Chris Olave. As much as Rashid Shaheed and Alvin Kamara can threaten the Bucs defense, Olave is the receiver who Spencer Rattler looks to the most – by far. His 71 targets this season are the second-most in the NFL behind only Ja’Marr Chase’s 80, and that speaks to how important he is to the New Orleans offense and to Rattler himself. That’s an average of 10.1 targets per game, and you can bet he’ll see a high target share again on Sunday whether he’s covered or not. What happens on those double-digit targets may directly correlate with what kind of game this turns into. For the Saints defense, the player to keep an eye on is cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry. He’s likely to match up with Tez Johnson, which has some added intrigue given that the two are former high school teammates. McKinstry leads the New Orleans defense with two interceptions and five passes defensed this season, but he has also struggled quite a bit at the same time. He has been targeted 34 times this season and has allowed 24 catches for 353 yards (a team-high) and four touchdowns (also a team-high). It’s been pretty volatile for the former Alabama corner, and which way it goes for him on Sunday may have an impact on the outcome of the game.

The player to watch on the Saints offense is going to be Chris Olave. As much as Rashid Shaheed and Alvin Kamara can threaten the Bucs defense, Olave is the receiver who Spencer Rattler looks to the most – by far. His 71 targets this season are the second-most in the NFL behind only Ja’Marr Chase’s 80, and that speaks to how important he is to the New Orleans offense and to Rattler himself. That’s an average of 10.1 targets per game, and you can bet he’ll see a high target share again on Sunday whether he’s covered or not. What happens on those double-digit targets may directly correlate with what kind of game this turns into.

For the Saints defense, the player to keep an eye on is cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry. He’s likely to match up with Tez Johnson, which has some added intrigue given that the two are former high school teammates. McKinstry leads the New Orleans defense with two interceptions and five passes defensed this season, but he has also struggled quite a bit at the same time. He has been targeted 34 times this season and has allowed 24 catches for 353 yards (a team-high) and four touchdowns (also a team-high). It’s been pretty volatile for the former Alabama corner, and which way it goes for him on Sunday may have an impact on the outcome of the game.