The New York Giants fantasy preview tackles the sustainability of RB Saquon Barkley’s role, while the Las Vegas Raiders fantasy outlook revolves around the fantasy football potential of their receivers after a change under center.
New York Giants at Las Vegas Raiders
- Spread: Raiders -2.5
- Total: 37.5
- Giants implied points: 17.5
- Raiders implied points: 20
Quarterbacks
Daniel Jones: The neck injury that has cost Jones three weeks is reported to be a thing of the past, and that means there is going to be fantasy interest here in a good spot against the Raiders on short rest.
Not for me.
Jones has one finish better than QB24 in his five starts this season, and this offense is void of playmakers. Add in the potential for this injury to cap his rushing upside, and there’s just not a clear path for Jones to produce value in his return to action.
Running Backs
Saquon Barkley: The rate stats from last week’s loss to the Giants are downright silly. Barkley tallied a 41.7% target share, 87.8% of RB rush attempts, and 90.8% of RB rushing yards.
How unsatisfying is this offense right now? One of the most explosive players in our game touched the ball 39 times and totaled 14.3 fantasy points. Let’s put some context on that – Austin Ekeler had 16.1 fantasy points on his first nine touches during Sunday Night Football.
Barkley’s role is truly unique, and that level of involvement for a rare talent keeps him viable. But in this offense, the quality of those touches is never going to be there. He gets the benefit of facing a bad defense that is on short rest, so you’re playing Barkley this week – I just wouldn’t recommend watching the game if you can help it.
Josh Jacobs: This has been a maddening year for Jacobs’ managers after his breakout in 2022, but I thought he ran hard against the Detroit Lions on Monday night. He gets the fourth-worst per-carry rush defense in the league this weekend.
If the running game can get on track (15+ carries in six of eight games), Jacobs has a clear path to return to his RB1 value. He’s on pace for 91.4 targets this season and is the focal point of an offense that is currently searching for answers.
Wide Receivers
Wan’Dale Robinson: We saw some nice volume initially from Robinson, but with just three targets over the past two weeks, there’s no need to hold onto this low-ceiling option. Yes, we are in a pass-happy league, but not every team has to have a meaningful fantasy receiver.
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Darius Slayton: If you’re throwing darts in times of desperation, Slayton has a big-play upside and is always on the field (per the Week 9 Cheat Sheet, 74 of 75 snaps last week). You’re aware of the risk that comes when the offense looks Slayton’s way, but there is (slightly) more upside than his season stat line suggests.
Davante Adams: It’s been a month since the last time Adams produced a top-30 finish at the WR position, and fantasy managers are getting antsy. OK, that might be the understatement of the century. It’s been nothing short of maddening, but could a change under center return him to his glory days?
Probably not. Rookie QB Aiden O’Connell showed some promise in the preseason, but he’s not “peak Aaron Rodgers.” That said, a change can’t hurt Adams’ value, and I’m hopeful that he trends in the right direction against an aggressive Giants defense that occasionally leaves receivers in single coverage spots down the field.
Adams is a viable WR2 for me, albeit one that does carry a wide range of outcomes. Hey, a wide range is better than a narrow range of bad outcomes, right?
Jakobi Meyers: The move from Garoppolo to O’Connell is not something we like to see. Not that Meyers can’t win on routes, but the Garoppolo pairing with a loyal coach in Josh McDaniels was a perfect storm.
Meyers is in the opposite spot as Adams. We wanted anything BUT change. After news of the tweak under center, I moved Meyers down from the WR2 tier into the average Flex play range. I’m still playing him, but my confidence is lower than in weeks past.
Tight Ends
Darren Waller: The hope here is that the hamstring that resulted in Waller’s early exit last week is behind him. It’s been nagging him all season and needs to be factored into his Week 9 rankings, as it could force him to miss extended time.
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Keep tabs on this situation, but should we get word that he’ll be limited, there are a handful of similar tight ends that you can add at the last minute if need be. Either Charger tight end, Las Vegas TE Michael Mayer, and Chicago Bears TE Cole Kmet are all options if New Orleans Saints TE Taysom Hill and Washington Commanders TE Logan Thomas are already rostered.
Michael Mayer: The rookie has shown glimpses of the potential that we know is there, but as the fourth option in this broken offense and pass game, Mayer’s days as a fantasy asset are in the future — not the present.
If he can string a few high-volume games together down the stretch, maybe he will emerge from the TE blob as a streaming candidate, but given the state of this offense, there’s no reason to tempt fate and go in his direction.
Should You Start Davante Adams or Adam Thielen?
In a battle of former NFC North receivers, give me the consistency of Thielen. I asked the question on the PFN Fantasy Podcast this week if Thielen was a top-five receiver in terms of projectable floor. We couldn’t name five better.
Adams is a great player, and maybe the change to Aiden O’Connell helps him get back to the fantasy phenom that we’ve seen for a decade. But in this spot, this week, I feel better about what Thielen is doing for the Panthers.
Should You Start Jakobi Meyers or Drake London?
Two receivers with new QBs have me leaning toward the player that has a more favorable role through eight weeks. That’s Meyers.
I will acknowledge the risk that comes involved with going that direction after the firing of Josh McDaniels (responsible for bringing in Meyers from New England), but I still do expect the Raiders to throw the ball more. In a good matchup, that’s enough to earn the start for me.
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