The fantasy football landscape shifts each week, bringing fresh opportunities and unexpected challenges that separate the prepared from the pretenders. Savvy managers know that last week’s performance tells only part of the story, and diving deeper into the underlying metrics reveals the accurate picture.
This week presents some intriguing decisions. Here’s insight about key Las Vegas Raiders players heading into their matchup with the Tennessee Titans to help you craft a winning lineup.
Geno Smith, QB
For the third time in four games, Geno Smith threw multiple interceptions, and he’s not threatening defenses down the field. Over the past two weeks, he’s misfired on seven of nine deep targets.
I like that he funneled more looks in the direction of Ashton Jeanty last week, but there’s no reason to look this direction in standard leagues. He completed as many passes to the Colts as the Raiders inside the red zone last week (seven attempts), further proof that his decision-making isn’t close to the level that we need from a QB who needs to pick up the vast majority of his points with his arm.
Ashton Jeanty, RB
The Raiders continue to look like a mess, but at least they are shaping up to be a fantasy-friendly mess.
“Friendly” might be an exaggeration, but Ashton Jeanty saw just 6.5% of the targets in September, a number that spiked to a team-high 19.4% against the Colts.
Yes, Brock Bowers was inactive, and Jakobi Meyers was held in check. I get it. We saw Jeanty thrive two years ago as a pass catcher in college, and it was good to get proof of concept at the professional level finally.
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It’ll be interesting to see if the rookie RB is as featured as he was on Sunday (seven touches on the opening drive) when Bowers returns. I think it’s more fact than fiction on that front, but if you’re not as sold on this chip after two impressive performances, I wouldn’t blame you.
J.K. Dobbins has scored in four of the last five weeks and could be overvalued by some managers in your league after their big win; there might be a package worth considering.
Jakobi Meyers, WR
Jakobi Meyers saw a pair of end zone targets, but a high-floor player like this is never going to pay off if his QB is struggling to throw a stone into the ocean.
I’m more than comfortable counting on Meyers’ talent, and we saw him return startable numbers in each of the first two weeks. Still, every receiver is a reflection of the situation they find themselves in, and this passing game is … struggling (I’m in a kind mood).
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With Brock Bowers banged up before and ultimately out in Week 5, Meyers is being moved all over the formation. He can do that, but for fantasy purposes, we want him to fill that big slot role regularly, something that was happening more often when Bowers was being used in the same way he was last year.
I need to see proof of life from this passing game as a whole or, at the very least, a close-to-full-strength version of the star tight end.
There’s a world in which we get that this week, but I doubt we have a good feeling about the latter entering the weekend. Meyers is a reasonable PPR flex, but that’s more matchup than form-driven.
Tre Tucker, WR
The best way to score fantasy points, especially on these bad teams, is to be on the field, and Tre Tucker (91.8% snap share) certainly checks that box.
We continue to see Vegas explore how to utilize this big-play threat effectively, and, on the surface, that’s a positive development. In the blowout at the hands of the Colts last week, Tucker notched his fifth carry in as many weeks while seeing multiple targets 20+ yards downfield in addition to numerous five or fewer yards from the line of scrimmage.
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The six targets he saw over the weekend are about what we can bank on, and I’m just not confident that six looks from Geno Smith playing at this level is enough to matter.
This is an intense one-on-one matchup, but could this be a rare instance where the game script works against Tucker? I’ll co-sign the idea of rostering him for depth, but I’m not yet tempted to look this direction to fill my flex in any role.
Brock Bowers, TE
The Raiders continue to use the “day-to-day” label for Brock Bowers as he recovers from a knee injury that has limited him for the majority of this season.
It’s worth noting that Las Vegas goes on bye in Week 8, making it very possible that the team opts to slow-play this situation through October with a player they view as a centerpiece to their growth.
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Michael Mayer is likely to return this week (concussion), and the Raiders did open the season in something of a split. You’re playing Bowers once he returns to action, but he has to earn back his status as a Tier 1 tight end.
