Which members of the Las Vegas Raiders, besides tight end Darren Waller, will be worth starting in fantasy football today?
Quarterback
Derek Carr’s lack of aggression should be enough to convince fantasy managers to look elsewhere. Carr’s total yards aren’t too bad, but he’s only thrown four touchdowns in the last three games. Meanwhile, he’s also been responsible for four picks and two lost fumbles in that span. Carr hasn’t been trusting his receivers either, which has led to more check downs. Another problem is that the Dallas Cowboys allow the seventh-least points, on average, to quarterbacks. Carr is not worth starting this week and might as well be droppable if his poor play continues.
Running Back
Josh Jacobs and Kenyan Drake have not done enough lately to earn starts in fantasy. What’s confusing in this situation is that Jacobs has seven more receptions than Drake in the last two games. Drake is supposed to be the pass-catching running back this year, and that hasn’t been the case. With that in mind, Jacobs is only worth starting if running back is a weakness on your fantasy team and if your league has PPR. I didn’t expect to use PPR as a reason to justify starting Jacobs at all this season, but here we are.
Wide Receivers
Hunter Renfrow is the only one that has shown to be reliable, but his lack of targets last week is a concern. Bryan Edwards and Zay Jones have been more than disappointing with more playing time. Granted, some blame should go to Carr for not giving them chances, but they have also struggled to get separation. While Renfrow only saw a season-low four targets last week, he can still be worthy in a deeper/three-receiver league.
Tight End
Darren Waller is coming off a great game and is the easiest player to start on the Raiders. Last week, Waller hauled in seven receptions for 116 yards. The Cowboys allow the ninth-most points on average to tight ends. Waller is also heavily due for a touchdown, so his game-changer potential is looming large.
Kicker
Daniel Carlson hasn’t been bad, but the Raiders offense has done a poor job getting down the field, so his opportunities could be limited. You might want to look for kickers in better scenarios this week.
Defense/Special Teams
The Raiders’ defense might have its flaws, but it has been doing a good job keeping games close for a while. The problem is that it might not be enough to start in fantasy. The Cowboys could be without Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb, but they will still have to deal with Ezekiel Elliot. Running backs average the seventh-most points against the Raiders. That, along with an ineffective offense, can lead to the defense breaking down getting run over. The defense is not worth starting.
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*Top Photo: Jeff Bottari/Associated Press