Raiders: Can You Rely On Josh Jacobs This Week In Fantasy Football?

Which Las Vegas Raiders will be influential in your path to a fantasy Super Bowl victory?

Quarterback

Despite wins in back-to-back weeks, Derek Carr has been abysmal in terms of fantasy. Carr has only scored 18.68 points in the past two weeks, ranking 26th in the league. Meanwhile, the Indianapolis Colts allow an average of 17.77 points to opposing quarterbacks per game. The Colts almost missed key pieces on defense until new COVID protocols made it possible to be available for Sunday’s game. 

Carr will likely have to play against a formidable defense nearly at full strength. Quarterback is a key position in fantasy. Because of that, you should search for another quarterback if he’s still on your roster. It’s honestly likely that if you’ve made finals in your league that you already have a better quarterback anyway.

Running Back

Josh Jacobs had a bit of a misleading game last week. In fantasy, he only scored 11.4 points last week. On the box score, Jacobs tied his career-high in rushing yards in a game with 129. The problem was that he didn’t score any touchdowns, lost a fumble (almost two) and his lone reception was for -5 yards. 

Unfortunately, It doesn’t look good for Jacobs on Sunday. The Colts defense has allowed the fourth-least points to running backs for the season. The offensive line will have to be at their “A” game for Jacobs to play well, but the chances of that aren’t looking good. You might want to look for a lower-level running back with a higher upside this week.

Wide Receiver

Hunter Renfrow had a decent bounce-back game against the Broncos last week. Renfrow totaled 40 yards on three catches and scored a touchdown. Bryan Edwards has been activated off the COVID/Reserve list, but his outlook isn’t promising enough to start. DeSean Jackson is still a boom or bust player with his speed. Zay Jones is way too inconsistent to be reliable. 

The Colts are in the middle of the pack when it comes to guarding wide receivers, allowing an average of 34.13 points. That means that one of the Raiders receivers should have a decent game. Renfrow has been one of the most consistent receivers in the league and should be a WR2 or Flex on your roster.

Tight End

Darren Waller looks to miss yet another game this week. He was out on the COVID/Reserve list on Wednesday and chances of him playing were already slim before that. Foster Moreau has been disappointing as a starter but was reliable last week. He caught four passes for 67 yards, with his last one sealing a victory for the Raiders. Even more good news, The Colts defense allows the third-most points to tight ends. If the tight end position has been shaky for you, Moreau offers a high upside to win a fantasy championship.

Kicker

As effective as Daniel Carlson has been this season, his outlook doesn’t look great. In the last four weeks, Carlson has only accumulated 29 points. That isn’t bad, but it’s not the most promising either. With a sturdy defense like the Colts, Carlson may continue to get fewer field goal opportunities. You can start him this week, but you might want to see if there’s anyone else with a significantly higher upside that’s available.

Defense/Special Teams

While Carson Wentz isn’t guaranteed to play this week, he’s not the player that the Raiders defense should be worrying about. That will be Jonathan Taylor, who has been the number one running back this season, leading the league with 1,626 rushing yards. Last year, Taylor ran over the Raiders, finishing with 150 rushing yards on just 20 carries and scoring two touchdowns. Something similar is likely to happen this time around, especially if the Raiders are missing key defensive players like Denzel Perryman. There is no good reason to use the Raiders defense this week.

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*Top Photo: AP Photo/Charlie Riedel