The Las Vegas Raiders fantasy football preview circles around which pass catchers you can trust this week, while the Chicago Bears outlook takes a look at how to rank DJ Moore in Week 7.
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Las Vegas Raiders at Chicago Bears
- Spread: Raiders -3
- Total: 37.5
- Raiders implied points: 20.3
- Bears implied points: 17.3
Quarterbacks
Jimmy Garoppolo: The back injury suffered last week against the Patriots could keep him out of action this week, a status that needs to be tracked for the value of the accompanying pieces – not for Garoppolo himself. He has one game this season over 11 fantasy points and is a below-average option in two-QB formats.
Justin Fields: The star quarterback is dealing with a dislocated thumb. All signs point toward him sitting out this week. Keep tabs on this situation, but as it stands right now, Fields is a hold and hope.
Running Backs
Josh Jacobs: He has seen at least five targets in five straight games, helping him offset his inefficient ways on the ground (2.9 yards per carry). The volume (20+ touches in four straight) locks him into lineups, and the versatility lands him in my top 10 every week.
In a favorable spot, Jacobs could have a 15+ yard rush and a 10+ yard catch for the third straight game and prove to be a strong DFS option.
Yards Before Contact & After Contact
– Jerome Ford just needs some better blocking and he is going to rip off some long runs
– Chuba>Sanders
– Josh Jacobs not running well through contact and not getting much help from his OL pic.twitter.com/d56yGnbKRy— Chris Wecht (@ChrisWechtFF) October 18, 2023
Khalil Herbert: Before the loss to the Vikings last week, Herbert (ankle) was placed on IR, ruling him out through Week 9 (Week 10 vs. Carolina on Thursday Night). He had begun to pick up steam before getting hurt in Washington (179 yards on his past 28 carries) and deserves to be rostered while we wait for a firm timeline.
MORE:2023 RB Fantasy Football Rankings
The Bears end the fantasy season by hosting the Cardinals and Falcons, a pair of favorable matchups should Herbert regain his spot atop this backfield.
Roschon Johnson: The rookie sat out last week after suffering a concussion in Week 5 and is likely to return for this plus-matchup (LV: below league average in rushing yards and yards per carry against). I have him as the lead back in Chicago with relative ease this week, flirting with a top-20 ranking.
I project Johnson to get the 16 touches that D’Onta Foreman saw in this offense last week, and that’s enough for him to rank ahead of Tyler Allgeier, both Ravens RBs, and both Steelers RBs.
D’Onta Foreman: With Herbert and Johnson out, Foreman was forced into action, and … he didn’t get the first running back carry. That honor went to Darrynton Evans, a player with 30 career carries through 3+ seasons before last week.
That tells me all I need to know about how the Bears feel about Foreman. He ended up out-snapping Evans 40-24 (near even split on early downs), and while he wasn’t terrible (67 yards), he fumbled and didn’t have a single explosive play.
Foreman was a one-week rental. You can move on, barring any setbacks to Johnson this week.
Wide Receivers
Davante Adams: It’s been an uneven start to the season for the former All-Pro, with only one top-15 finish on his résumé, not to mention consecutive weeks outside of the top 45.
That said, we saw his elite upside a month ago, and I’m fine with chasing that potential. Does he carry more risk than we assumed he would? Yes. Does he still possess a week-winning upside? You bet.
Jakobi Meyers: All he does is produce strong fantasy numbers when Garoppolo starts, so if we are operating under that assumption, Meyers is a fine WR2 that carries a high floor.
Should news on Garoppolo take a turn for the worst, Meyers would fall outside of my top 30 and be in that “how lucky do you feel?” tier of Flex option.
MORE: PFN Consensus Rankings
His fearless style of play with a shorter aDOT would make him less impacted by a change under center than most, but there is no denying his chemistry with Garoppolo on those timing routes.
DJ Moore: As good as Moore has been lately, how can you look at him any differently than Drake London? Is he not the star receiver in a low-volume offense with no confidence in the man in charge of getting Moore the ball?
This is exactly why you build roster depth. Options like Jordan Addison and both primary Bronco receivers rank favorably for me compared to the Bears WR1 this week, even in a favorable spot.
Tight Ends
Michael Mayer: The Golden Domer was selected in the second round by the Raiders in April, and they fully unleashed him in the first quarter against the Patriots. In those first 15 minutes, per the Week 7 Cheat Sheet, he was targeted on four of 11 throws and turned that usage into 67 yards — 26 more than he had entering the game.
I worry long-term about his ability to carve out a consistent role in an offense with a good running back and two volume magnet receivers. Still, we are in the business of winning Week 7, and a rookie with confidence facing the Bears is a reasonable path to doing just that. You could do much worse than betting on pedigree in a strong matchup.
Cole Kmet: Why? Why consider going to a tight end who has one game with 45+ yards this season and is now getting a downgrade at the quarterback position?
I’ve been outspoken about saying that there is no real “bad” TE streamer, given how little it takes to finish in the top 12 in any given week, but Kmet certainly isn’t a “good” option to fill that spot.
Should You Start Jakobi Meyers or Gabe Davis?
Both carry more risk with banged-up quarterbacks, but with the Bills projected to score 5-6 more points than the Raiders this week, I’ll side with Davis in all fantasy formats. While his volume is never a given, it is worth noting that Davis saw 17 targets across two games against the Patriots last season as New England devoted extra resources toward Davante Adams.
I’m expecting the target count to be in the same ballpark, resulting in me leaning toward the player with more per-target upside.
Should You Start Roschon Johnson or Najee Harris?
I’ll take the risk and go with Johnson (if cleared) in what figures to be an ugly game where the Bears have to lean on the run quite a bit. I’m not sure Johnson will be ultra-efficient in his return to action as a part of a limited offense, but I like Chicago’s chances to stay within shouting distance more than I like Pittsburgh’s.
The Steelers have told us time and time again this season that they prefer Jaylen Warren to Harris as a pass catcher, so if they are forced to play from behind, Harris won’t only be the wrong choice.