Oakland Raiders: Top 5 fantasy football options, stat predictions
QB Derek Carr
ADP: Round 4, Pick 10
In terms of fantasy points, Carr finished as QB19 in standard Yahoo fantasy leagues last year, throwing for 4,049 yards, 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. For those who watched the Raiders through the 2018 campaign, you know he showed moderate improvement in the second half of the year — enough to suggest we’ll see more growth under Gruden in the upcoming term, especially with the weapons around him.
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In January of 2018, Gruden took over the head-coaching position and flipped the wide receiver depth chart, moving on from Michael Crabtree and eventually Amari Cooper before the trade deadline. Jordy Nelson logged 63 catches for 739 yards but retired in March.
General manager Mike Mayock and Gruden continued to tear down the wide receiver position, trading for Antonio Brown, signing Tyrell Williams and drafting Hunter Renfrow during the offseason.
Because of Brown’s presence alone, Carr’s yards and touchdown numbers should improve for the 2019 season. Williams profiles as a solid No. 2 option who can win one-on-one matchups. Renfrow will battle for the No. 3 spot.
To understand Carr’s fantasy projection, we have to look at the bigger picture. He’ll go into the 2019 campaign with the same offensive system for just the second time in his career. The 28-year old spent two years in former offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave‘s offense and led the Raiders to a 12-3 record before breaking his leg.
No, Oakland isn’t a strong postseason contender this year, but the passing offense will win some games because of Carr’s arm. With that said, the Raiders signal-caller has never thrown for more than 32 touchdown passes in a single season. Typically, he’s at his best when coupled with a solid ground attack, and Gruden just selected running back Josh Jacobs in the first round.
Carr hasn’t posed much of a threat as a ball-carrier, so we must temper fantasy expectations a bit with several high-end dual-threats operating out of the pocket. He’ll land in the QB12-14 range in terms of fantasy points.
Fantasy Prediction: 4,116 passing yards, 27 touchdowns, 12 interceptions