The Las Vegas Raiders will face the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 16. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding QB Aidan O’Connell.
Is Aidan O’Connell Playing in Week 16?
Updated at 2:55 PM ET on Sunday, December 22
O'Connell is active for today's game.
On Tuesday, head coach Antonio Pierce said he expects O’Connell to return this week from his knee injury. The quarterback practiced in full all week and is on track to play after a one-game absence.
We’ll continue to monitor the Raiders’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Start or Sit Aiden O’Connell in Week 16?
The outlook is cloudy, come back later.
I can’t be the only one who feels like this O’Connell health situation is a run of randomly assigned eight-ball quotes, but here we are. At this moment, his status isn’t clear, but what is pretty obvious is that, for your QB slot, it shouldn’t matter.
I’ll address the ramifications on O’Connell’s two pass catchers, but a player with a 3.3% career touchdown rate operating at less than full strength without a stable run game just isn’t going to cut it for me. And it’s not difficult to make the case that a compromised version of O’Connell could still be the preferred path for your Raiders pieces.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 16 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Aiden O’Connell’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 16
As of Sunday morning, O’Connell is projected to score 8.3 fantasy points in Week 16. This includes 141.9 passing yards, 0.7 passing touchdowns, and 0.5 interceptions. It also includes 0.7 rushing attempts for 0.4 yards and 0 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
PFN Insight on the Jaguars' Defense
After a nice Week 14 respite against the Titans, the Jaguars allowed Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams to turn the clock back to their halcyon Green Bay days.
Jacksonville posted a 68.8 (D+) grade in Week 15, its fourth-worst of the season. The 7.4 yards per play allowed was the second-worst figure of the season, behind only the record-setting beatdown at the hands of the Lions.
The Jaguars don't rank above average in a single metric that goes into Defense+. They're close on defensive EPA per rush (0.06), which ranks 16th and is right at league average for the season. Of course, even that area faltered vs. the Jets, as the Jags had the fifth-worst EPA per rush (-0.01) of any defense a week ago.
Last year, Mike Caldwell's firing was viewed as a sacrificial lamb for Doug Pederson, and the defense has gotten considerably worse. It seems highly unlikely Pederson and Ryan Nielsen can make a case that things will only get better in Year 2 of their partnership.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Aiden O’Connell’s Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 6:05 AM ET on Sunday, December 22. If you're in a Superflex league, make sure you check out our Weekly Consensus Superflex Rankings.
Week 16 QB PPR Rankings
1) Josh Allen | BUF (vs. NE)
2) Jalen Hurts | PHI (at WAS)
3) Lamar Jackson | BAL (vs. PIT)
4) Joe Burrow | CIN (vs. CLE)
5) Jayden Daniels | WAS (vs. PHI)
6) Brock Purdy | SF (at MIA)
7) Sam Darnold | MIN (at SEA)
8) Kyler Murray | ARI (at CAR)
9) Tua Tagovailoa | MIA (vs. SF)
10) Baker Mayfield | TB (at DAL)
11) Bo Nix | DEN (at LAC)
12) Jared Goff | DET (at CHI)
13) Jordan Love | GB (vs. NO)
14) Justin Herbert | LAC (vs. DEN)
15) Matthew Stafford | LAR (at NYJ)
16) Patrick Mahomes | KC (vs. HOU)
17) Anthony Richardson | IND (vs. TEN)
18) C.J. Stroud | HOU (at KC)
19) Aaron Rodgers | NYJ (vs. LAR)
20) Geno Smith | SEA (vs. MIN)
21) Russell Wilson | PIT (at BAL)
22) Drake Maye | NE (at BUF)
23) Bryce Young | CAR (vs. ARI)
24) Cooper Rush | DAL (vs. TB)
25) Caleb Williams | CHI (vs. DET)
26) Dorian Thompson-Robinson | CLE (at CIN)
27) Mac Jones | JAX (at LV)
28) Mason Rudolph | TEN (at IND)
29) Michael Penix Jr. | ATL (vs. NYG)
30) Aidan O'Connell | LV (vs. JAX)
31) Spencer Rattler | NO (at GB)
32) Drew Lock | NYG (at ATL)
Jaguars at Raiders Trends and Insights
Jacksonville Jaguars
Team: It’s easy to remember the 52-6 loss in Detroit (Week 11), but that’s the only Jaguar game since Week 8 that has been decided by multiple possessions (five of those six games have been decided by fewer than six points).
QB: Mac Jones is 0-for-17 with five interceptions when throwing the ball more than 20 yards downfield this season.
Offense: Brian Thomas Jr. has four games of 5-85-1 as a rookie ... the only other rookies to do that since 2016 are Amon-Ra St. Brown and Ja'Marr Chase
Defense: For the second time this season, the Jaguars have gone four straight games without forcing a turnover (also: Weeks 1-4).
Fantasy: QB Issues? What QB Issues? Thomas’ expected PPR points over his past five games: 4.7 - 11.9 - 18.0 - 20.6 - 26.1.
Betting: Over tickets have cashed in five straight Jaguar games played indoors.
Las Vegas Raiders
Team: This is the Raiders' first double-digit losing streak since they bridged the 2013 and 2014 seasons with 16 straight L's.
QB: Desmond Ridder threw 11 passes in the first half -- exactly none of them were in the direction of a receiver.
Offense: The Raiders failed to score in the third quarter on Monday night, the eighth time this season they've done that.
Defense: Maxx Crosby’s season came to an end before this game started, yet the Raiders held the Falcons to 30.8% on third downs, the first time Vegas has posted a sub-40% rate since Week 7.
Fantasy: The Vegas run game might be broken, but Ameer Abdullah has reached double figures in terms of PPR points as a pass catcher in three of his past five games.
Betting: The Raiders have covered five straight games played on short rest (remember that 63-21 win over the Chargers last season?).