The Las Vegas Raiders struggling offense may be without one of its biggest weapons against the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday Night Football, with dynamic starting RB Josh Jacobs dealing with a knee injury.
Does this injury to Jacobs make Ameer Abdullah a viable plug-and-play option for your fantasy football team in Week 15?
Editor’s Note: According to a report from Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo, Josh Jacobs is set to miss the Raiders Week 15 game with the Chargers.
Should You Start Ameer Abdullah in Week 15?
Jacobs’ 2022 breakout campaign hasn’t left much room for other Raiders RBs to eat over the last two seasons. One of those backs buried on the depth chart has been Abdullah, who has seen just 10 carries over his 30 games in a Las Vegas uniform.
I’m old enough to remember when there was a ton of hype surrounding Abdullah when he was drafted in the second round by the Detroit Lions back in 2015. Unfortunately, he’s never quite lived up to the high expectations fantasy managers had for him coming out of Nebraska.
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Now, if Jacobs is inactive — which is the only scenario where you should consider starting him — Abdullah would likely be the preferred pass-catching back over Zamir White, which is evident by his 14 receptions this season to White’s six. On the flip side, White profiles as the better early-down and short-yardage option out of these two players.
It’s worth noting that when Jacobs went down with the injury against the Vikings, it was Abdullah who saw a season-high snap percentage by being on the field for 28% of the offensive snaps in Week 14.
Trending Start/Sit Searches for Abdullah
Did you know that we have a Start/Sit Optimizer here at Pro Football Network?! It’s completely free to use, and it allows you to enter in up to six players to find the best option to plug into your starting lineup!
It also allows us to see the most popular trending searches, and we’ve jotted some of them down here to help provide some clarity!
Should You Start Abdullah or Rico Dowdle?
One of these complementary backs plays in an elite offense, and one of them played in an offense that didn’t score a single point last week.
If Jacobs is active, the answer is Rico Dowdle comfortably. However, if Jacobs misses Thursday night’s game, then Abdullah’s pass-catching role should expand to rival Dowdle’s TD upside in the high-powered Dallas Cowboys offense.
Either way, I’ve seen enough from Dowdle to trust him a bit more whether Jacobs is active or not in Week 15.
Should You Start Abdullah or Joshua Kelley?
Without knowing the status of Jacobs at this moment, Joshua Kelley would be my preferred option. It’s been a while, but we’ve seen Kelley produce two 12+ point fantasy performances this season with Austin Ekeler in the lineup, which can’t be said for Abdullah if Jacobs is available.
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However, if Jacobs is inactive, then I would prefer Abdullah over Kelley in Week 15 because of his projected work in the passing game.
Derek Tate’s Week 15 RB Rankings
1) Christian McCaffrey | SF (at ARI)
2) Alvin Kamara | NO (vs. NYG)
3) Austin Ekeler | LAC (at LV)
4) Bijan Robinson | ATL (at CAR)
5) Kyren Williams | LAR (vs. WAS)
6) Tony Pollard | DAL (at BUF)
7) Josh Jacobs | LV (vs. LAC)
8) Jahmyr Gibbs | DET (vs. DEN)
9) Saquon Barkley | NYG (at NO)
10) Rachaad White | TB (at GB)
11) Zack Moss | IND (vs. PIT)
12) Derrick Henry | TEN (vs. HOU)
13) Travis Etienne Jr. | JAX (vs. BAL)
14) Breece Hall | NYJ (at MIA)
15) David Montgomery | DET (vs. DEN)
16) James Cook | BUF (vs. DAL)
17) Joe Mixon | CIN (vs. MIN)
18) Isiah Pacheco | KC (at NE)
19) Javonte Williams | DEN (at DET)
20) Raheem Mostert | MIA (vs. NYJ)
21) De’Von Achane | MIA (vs. NYJ)
22) Brian Robinson Jr. | WAS (at LAR)
23) Ezekiel Elliott | NE (vs. KC)
24) D’Andre Swift | PHI (at SEA)
25) Chuba Hubbard | CAR (vs. ATL)
26) Aaron Jones | GB (vs. TB)
27) Jerome Ford | CLE (vs. CHI)
28) James Conner | ARI (vs. SF)
29) Najee Harris | PIT (at IND)
30) Alexander Mattison | MIN (at CIN)
31) Jaylen Warren | PIT (at IND)
32) Keaton Mitchell | BAL (at JAX)
33) Antonio Gibson | WAS (at LAR)
34) Kenneth Walker III | SEA (vs. PHI)
35) AJ Dillon | GB (vs. TB)
36) Gus Edwards | BAL (at JAX)
37) Chase Brown | CIN (vs. MIN)
38) Devin Singletary | HOU (at TEN)
39) Clyde Edwards-Helaire | KC (at NE)
40) Tyjae Spears | TEN (vs. HOU)
41) Jerick McKinnon | KC (at NE)
42) Dameon Pierce | HOU (at TEN)
43) Jamaal Williams | NO (vs. NYG)
44) Joshua Kelley | LAC (at LV)
45) Zach Charbonnet | SEA (vs. PHI)
46) Roschon Johnson | CHI (at CLE)
47) Khalil Herbert | CHI (at CLE)
48) Kenneth Gainwell | PHI (at SEA)
49) Ameer Abdullah | LV (vs. LAC)
50) Rico Dowdle | DAL (at BUF)
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