The Las Vegas Raiders will travel to the Cincinnati Bengals in the Wild Card round for a game featuring two teams that haven’t had postseason success in quite a while. How will the Las Vegas wide receiving corps of Hunter Renfrow, Zay Jones, and Bryan Edwards fare in playoff fantasy football and DFS?
Hunter Renfrow has been fantastic this season
I can’t talk enough about how wonderful Renfrow has been this year. He finished the season as the WR11 in PPR scoring, proving to be one of the best bargains in all of fantasy football this year. He’s developing into one of the top technicians in the game and is a target machine.
Renfrow had 8 or more targets in 11 games this year. In total, he caught 103 balls for 1,038 yards and 9 TDs. He gives off major Cooper Kupp vibes as a slot receiver that can cook in his routes, and he has earned the trust and focus of quarterback Derek Carr. I love Renfrow, and I’m so happy to see him thriving.
The rest of the receiving corps is spotty at best
No one else on the Raiders’ roster has earned my trust. We’ve seen flashes from Jones and Edwards — the latter posted 4 receptions for 63 yards in the overtime thriller against the Los Angeles Chargers — but it’s hard to trust either of them.
Not only that, but it’s important to understand the current weather implications of this game. It’s slated to be roughly 30 degrees at kickoff.
Carr has played five games where the temperature at kickoff is 37 degrees or colder. In those five games, he’s 0-5, has never scored more than 17 points, and has only one game with a passer rating over 78.
Additionally, in four of those five contests, he failed to top 222 passing yards has thrown a total of 5 interceptions. Carr also did not throw more than 1 TD in any of those games. He could struggle mightily.
Expectations for Hunter Renfrow, Zay Jones, and Bryan Edwards
In playoff leagues, I don’t love any of Las Vegas’ wideouts because I don’t think the Raiders make it out of the first round. If Renfrow falls to a value spot where you can get him as your WR3, then sure, I’d consider him there.
For DFS purposes, it’s entirely different. Renfrow has a price tag of $6,000, which is a bit costly but not otherworldly. In a cold weather game, I see Renfrow getting peppered with targets underneath and turning in a solid performance.
Carr struggles in cold weather, but Renfrow should be a friendly shallow target. If the Raiders get anywhere close to the end zone, Renfrow will be a featured part of their plans.
If I’m placing money on a dart throw, I’ll take Edwards at $3,400 and hope that he can turn in a big play or two.