Miami Dolphins - Fantasy News

Raiders at Dolphins Start 'Em / Sit 'Em

by Aaron Bowers

11/2/17

NFL

Miami Dolphins

Damien Williams

In a game that football fans and network executives wish wasn’t televised, the Oakland Raiders will travel to Miami to take on the Dolphins this week.

After losing five of their last six games, the Raiders’ season has all but come off the rails. The once-prolific offense has turned into a dink-and-dunk machine, while years of failed free agent signings and busted draft picks haven’t done anything to fix the defense.

On the other side, the Dolphins are one of the worst-looking 4-3 teams in recent memory. They’ve scored more than 20 points just once this season, have failed to score a single point in two games and just traded their star running back to the Eagles. The Miami defense has managed to hold things together thus far, though it didn’t look great in a 40-0 loss to the Baltimore Ravens last week.

We’ve identified players to target and fade in this matchup so that fantasy players have a good reason to watch this game.

Oakland Raiders Week 9 Projected Fantasy Points
Derek Carr: 16.0 PFP
Amari Cooper: 11.5 PFP
Michael Crabtree: 11.5 PFP
Jared Cook: 8.0 PFP
Marshawn Lynch: 8.0 PFP
Giorgio Tavecchio: 6.5 PFP
DeAndre Washington: 6.0 PFP
Jalen Richard: 6.0 PFP
Cordarrelle Patterson: 5.0 PFP

Miami Dolphins Week 9 Projected Fantasy Points
Jarvis Landry: 11.5 PFP
Jay Cutler: 11.0 PFP
DeVante Parker: 10.0 PFP
Kenny Stills: 8.5 PFP
Cody Parkey: 5.5 PFP
Damien Williams: 5.0 PFP

Start 'Em: Michael Crabtree (11.5 PFP)

Though he ranks second on the team in targets with 20 fewer than Amari Cooper, Crabtree has been the most consistent receiver on the Oakland offense. He is averaging over 13.3 Dober Fantasy Points per game thanks to six touchdowns in seven games. Nine NFL seasons have sapped Crabtree’s speed, and he has never had great hands, but he finds ways to win against all types of coverage. Miami has given up 11 receiving touchdowns in seven games this season, and Crabtree is probably the most-likely Raider to get into the end zone. While we don’t feel great about any member of the Oakland offense, Crabtree is the guy we’re targeting in this matchup.

Sit 'Em: Marshawn Lynch (8.0 PFP)

As beloved of a player as there is in the NFL, Lynch hasn’t been the productive fantasy option that he once was. He has scored more than 8.0 DFP just three times this season and is ceding a lot of touches and snaps to Jalen Richard and DeAndre Washington. Last year in this role, Latavius Murray found value by scoring 12 short-yardage touchdowns. This iteration of the Raiders offense isn’t nearly as prolific, and those opportunities have dried up. Combined with a matchup against a Miami defense that is second in the league in rush yards allowed per game and has given up just one rushing touchdown in 2017, and this is an easy fade for Dober Play Cards.

Start 'Em: DeVante Parker (9.5 PFP)

One of the bright spots for the Dolphins on offense has been DeVante Parker. He has the size, speed and hands of special receivers like A.J. Green and seems to be putting things together in his third season. In the three games before his ankle injury, Parker had DFP totals of 12.5, 17.6 and 9.9. Jay Cutler may not be a very good quarterback at this stage of his career, but he has shown a willingness to take shots to Parker when he is covered one-on-one on the outside. The Raiders don’t have any corners that can stand up to Parker, and we expect him to have a strong showing in his first game back from injury.

Sit 'Em: Damien Williams (5.0 PFP)

While the Jay Ajayi trade opens up more opportunities in the Miami backfield, it remains to be seen how lucrative those chances will be. Ajayi averaged only 3.4 yards per carry behind a below-average Dolphins line and didn’t score a single touchdown in seven games. Williams doesn’t have anywhere near the talent of Ajayi and will probably split touches with Kenyan Drake, making it difficult to project much value for either player. Oakland isn’t good on defense by any stretch of the imagination, but the Raiders have allowed only 88 rushing yards per game. We recommend fading both Dolphins backs until we have some clarity on how they’ll be used.