RADIO
RotoBaller's Corey Johnson takes a look at the rest-of-season outlook for the Oakland Raiders to determine if anyone is worth rostering, following the loss of key Raider players.
In just the last few days, the Oakland Raiders have lost two key elements in their offense. Amari Cooper has been traded to the Dallas Cowboys and Marshawn Lynch has been placed on the Injured Reserve. Now, you'd think there'd be some extremely value moving forward, right? Well, it's not that easy. Of course, there seems to be some attackable spots but the 1-5 Raiders just haven't proven to be a fantasy target-able team this season.
We'll take a deeper dive into how the remaining running backs will likely split touches and how Martavis Bryant, Jordy Nelson, and Jared Cook will likely see a slight boost to offensive production for the remainder of the season.
Regardless of the ineffectiveness of the Raiders offense, it'll be interesting to see if a deeper dive will reveal some viable fantasy plays.
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Are Any Raiders Worth Playing?
Running Backs
Jalen Richard seems like a perfect place to start as he will likely see bumps in rushing and pass-catching production. Richard has not been all that effective on the ground this season but has seen his fair share of screen/check-down catches; he has four games with at least six catches. There is reason to believe that an increased snap-count will increase his targets and make him a viable RB2/flex option in PPR leagues. In addition, the increase in snaps will produce slightly more opportunity for big play rushes.
Regardless, for early-down rushes, the primary beneficiary will likely be Doug Martin. Martin has not been effective at all this season but from a pure snap/touches prospective he could become a viable play in deeper leagues. There is reason to believe that Martin will see 15+ touches a game. There are no actual reports on what roles these running backs will play the remainder of the season but Richard and Martin are certainly the primary options for coach Jon Gruden's backfield.
Pass Catchers
We'll start with the most interesting case first: Martavis Bryant. At the beginning of the season, Bryant was cut from the Raiders as he was facing substance abuse charges that would have suspended him for the entire year. Just two days later, all reports of the suspension dropped and Bryant was re-signed. However, with Nelson and Cooper locking down the outside receiver positions, Bryant has only had 14 catches this season. Now, with Cooper gone, Bryant has an excellent opportunity to revitalize his season, and career. He is only on a one-year deal and will certainly be looking to impress the Raiders, and the rest of the league, to try to lock in a longer contract.
Jordy Nelson has a great chance to improve on his fairly productive season. Nelson has a touchdown in three of six games to go along with his 22 catches for 323 yards this season. There's not much more to say than that Derek Carr and Nelson have been on the same page recently (relatively speaking) and there's no indication that it will change. The Raider's offense, in general, has been pretty lousy the last couple of games so Nelson's upside remains limited. Nelson is an option at WR2/flex but remains miles away from the locked-in WR1 we've seen him be in the past.
In general, Jared Cook is the easiest player to predict. Cook has been a top-10 TE this season and that will certainly continue the remainder of the season. There is also a solid chance for Cook to be seen as a top-5 TE by the end of the season. Cook's first four games were excellent but he has regressed the last two games as the Raiders have only managed 10 and 3 points those weeks. As long as Carr can get the Raiders offense moving, Cook will likely see 8+ targets per game. The place where Cook may see the most increase in production is in the red zone; Cook only has two touchdowns (both in the same game) this season but will likely see more red zone targets as the Raiders offense dwindles. Cook is a high-end TE1.
