Revenge game! Josh McDaniels’ Las Vegas Raiders fantasy football preview is centered around Jakobi Meyers against his former team while the New England Patriots fantasy outlook tries to find value somewhere on this offense.
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New England Patriots at Las Vegas Raiders
- Spread: Raiders -3
- Total: 41.5
- Patriots implied points: 19.3
- Raiders implied points: 22.3
Quarterbacks
Jimmy Garoppolo: It has been far from a banner start to the season for Garoppolo. He missed a game due to injury and has thrown an interception in every game he has played.
That said, he has proven capable of elevating Jakobi Meyers, and that is a contribution to the fantasy community. We thank Jimmy G for his efforts on that front and move on without considering him against a still-tough Patriots defense.
Running Backs
Rhamondre Stevenson: Stevenson joins Dameon Pierce in the “I drafted him early and now can’t play or drop him” circle of hell in Dante’s Inferno. High school was a long time ago, but I think that was one of the circles.
Last week, Ezekiel Elliott (yet to break a tackle this season) and Ty Montgomery (one touchdown every 37 touches for his career) both got carries in the first quarter, a true sign of how little faith the team currently has in Stevenson.
MORE: Fantasy News Tracker
Remember the elite pass-catching that made him a fantasy darling last season? A washed-up Elliott, who didn’t have a suitor for most of the summer, has more receiving yards over the past month.
Stevenson’s 16 touches per game are too much to cut loose, but recent waiver wire adds in Jaleel McLaughlin, and Emari Demercado rank ahead of him for me this week.
Ezekiel Elliott: He’s turning this backfield into a committee, which is good news for exactly no one. Zeke has one game this season with 30+ rushing yards.
This offense simply isn’t built to produce fantasy points. He assumed the two-minute snaps last week, but that speaks more to Stevenson’s decline than it does anything positive about Zeke. He needs not to be rostered in any format in the same vein that Singletary doesn’t in Houston.
The lead role in this offense just isn’t worth anything.
Josh Jacobs: Per the Week 6 Cheat Sheet, Jacobs has over 90% of the RB carries in Vegas this season and at least 20 touches in four games this season — a level of usage that ranks among the elite.
While the carries have largely been useless outside of short touchdowns (2.9 yards per carry), Jacobs’ pacing for 102 targets is a beautiful thing. This offensive line is a mess, and he’s not exactly an elusive runner to begin with. But unlike the aforementioned Stevenson, Jacobs has been able to salvage his value through the passing game.
He’s not producing at the level you wanted when you drafted him this summer, but Jacobs remains healthy and involved — something many fantasy managers would take in a heartbeat right now.
Wide Receivers
Kendrick Bourne: It took two receptions for Bourne to easily be the Patriots’ Week 5 leader in receiving yards with 43. This offense is a mess, and on top of that, they don’t even funnel the targets to a single source (six Patriots saw 4 5 targets over the weekend).
Bourne ranks as my highest Patriot receiver this week.
It might be more accurate to say he’s my least-hated option among their pass catchers. Bourne is my WR64, and I don’t see a world in which anyone from this passing game is worth rostering at any point moving forward.
Davante Adams: I’m guessing I don’t have to tell you this if you roster Adams, but the perennial All-Pro has one top-15 finish this season and only saw four targets against his former employer last week.
Am I worried? Not really. We trust the talent, and less than a year ago, we saw something similar happen.
After a five-target, three-yard performance against the Saints (his third game under 40 yards in a six-game window), we saw Adams rack up 413 yards and five touchdowns over the next three weeks. Betting on talent and talent alone isn’t something I do a ton of, but Adams is the exception.
Adams remains a top-10 play for me, and if his DFS ownership projects to suffer after the Week 5 dud, I’ll be making a call to the bank to see how big a loan I qualify for.
Jakobi Meyers: Josh McDaniels brought him over from New England and is comfortable scheming around his versatile skill set. Garoppolo isn’t seeing the field great, and yet, Meyers has reached double-digit targets in all three games they’ve played together (posting a pair of top-10 finishes in the process).
At this point, there is no reason not to trust Meyers as a low-end WR2 who carries a respectable floor. The good news? That’s not going to change anytime soon with the Bears, Lions, and Giants next up for the Raiders.
The truth is Jakobi Meyers wanted to be back and the Patriots offered more money to JuJu https://t.co/kyjMlzoau6
— Mark Daniels (@ByMarkDaniels) October 11, 2023
Tight Ends
Hunter Henry: He averaged 5.5 catches, 54 yards, and a touchdown per game through two weeks. In the three weeks since, he has totaled six catches, 68 yards, and zero touchdowns. The flash in the pan was nice to open the season, but he is a tick below the TE streamer conversation this week and doesn’t need to be rostered.
Should You Start Rhamondre Stevensonor Emari Demercado?
I understand that Keaontay Ingram is listed atop the depth chart in Arizona, but given what we saw from Demercado last week in relief of James Conner, there’s at least a level of upside that we simply don’t get with Stevenson.
MORE: PFN Consensus Rankings
Neither is a safe RB2 for me this week, and I’d prefer a receiver with a target floor at Flex if you have the option. That said, give me the rookie over the bust if you’re backed into a corner.
Should You Start Jakobi Meyers or Gabe Davis?
Davis has scored in four straight games, but a strong target day for him is less than what Meyers averages with Jimmy Garoppolo under center. In Meyers, you get access to a similar ceiling without taking on nearly the risk.