The Las Vegas Raiders will face the Atlanta Falcons in Week 15. Here’s fantasy football start-sit advice for every Raiders skill player who has the potential to make a fantasy impact during the game.
Looking for more lineup advice? Head over to our Week 15 Fantasy Start-Sit Cheat Sheet, where we cover every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Aidan O’Connell, QB
Outlook is cloudy, come back later.
I can’t be the only one who feels like this Aidan 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 his 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.
Crazy, I know.
Desmond Ridder, QB
This season, 45 quarterbacks have thrown at least 40 passes this season. Within that data set, the Desmond Ridder rankings are … well, they are what you’d think.
- 40th in touchdown rate
- 41st in first down rate
- 42nd in yards per pass
- 44th in air yards per pass
- 45th in sack rate
Ridder is on the fringe of pushing my “I’d take any starting QB over a skill position player” logic when it comes to filling out my Offensive Player roster spot in Superflex settings should Aidan O’Connell be ruled out.
Alexander Mattison, RB
Alexander Mattison continues to nurse an ankle injury, and with just a 3.3 yards-per-carry average this season, there’s no need to hold out hope. The emergence of Sincere McCormick and the general ineptitude of this offense leaves next to no projectable projection available for Mattison, even if he were to be deemed fully healthy.
Ameer Abdullah, RB
Ameer Abdullah carried the ball just one time in the Week 14 loss to the Bucs, putting his value squarely on his ability to earn targets in a spotty passing offense. We saw Abdullah catch five passes three weeks ago against the Broncos, and there’s the opportunity for that to happen again, especially if the Raiders fall behind, but this profile is far too thin to count on in most leagues.
If you don’t have Brock Bowers, you’re best off not playing a Raider. That’s true for this week, next week, and until otherwise noted.
Jakobi Meyers, WR
This Raiders offense has been about as concentrated as any in the NFL. That doesn’t lock in production, but it gives the featured options a chance, and Jakobi Meyers is a prime example of that.
Meyers has six top-30 PPR finishes this season, an impressive accomplishment all things considered. With Aidan O’Connell under center this season, Meyers has posted a 29.4% on-field target (2.6 yards per route). That’s a role I can justify playing against a Falcons defense that creates pressure at the second lowest rate, thus allowing Vegas’ WR1 time to create separation.
His upside is limited as it is in an offense that rarely frequents the red zone, and any change under center only increases the risk. If O’Connell guts this out, Meyers is a low-end Flex, but if not, I’d rather take a wait-and-see approach for an offense that could be one of the three worst in the league.
Brock Bowers, TE
It has seemed inevitable for a while, and now it’s official — Brock Bowers is your rookie TE record holder for receptions. He didn’t give you the stat line you’re used to in Week 14 (3-49-0), but there’s nothing to do here besides start the elite talent and consider yourself lucky to do so.
This Aidan O’Connell injury is one to watch (27% on-field target share for Bowers with him under center), but not to the level where you’re starting a lesser player on Sunday over Bowers with an unknown QB on Monday night.
This offense is always going to carry risk, but a weather-proof game, on extended rest, against a defense that just coughed up 347 yards and five scores to Sam Darnold on 28 attempts — you’re not getting cute with your season on the line.