Oakland Raiders - Fantasy News

Raiders at Eagles Start 'Em / Sit 'Em

by Aaron Bowers

12/17/17

NFL

Oakland Raiders

Derek Carr

The NFL action in Week 16 will wrap up on Christmas night when the Oakland Raiders travel to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles.

2017 has been a huge disappointment for Oakland. After winning 12 games in 2016, it has taken a massive step back on offense, and the Raider defense hasn’t improved at all to compensate. At 6-8, the Raiders are out of the playoff picture and looking to build toward 2018.

Philadelphia looked like a bona fide Super Bowl contender before Carson Wentz tore his ACL in Week 14. Still, the Eagles have the best record in football, have locked up a first-round bye and will look to sew up home-field advantage through the NFC playoffs with a win in this game.

Oakland Raiders Week 16 Projected Fantasy Points
Derek Carr: 15.0 PFP
Marshawn Lynch: 13.0 PFP
Michael Crabtree: 11.5 PFP
Jared Cook: 7.5 PFP
Giorgio Tavecchio: 6.5 PFP
Seth Roberts: 5.5 PFP
DeAndre Washington: 5.0 PFP
Jalen Richard: 5.0 PFP
Cordarrelle Patterson: 5.0 PFP

Philadelphia Eagles Week 16 Projected Fantasy Points
Zach Ertz: 12.0 PFP
Nelson Agholor: 11.5 PFP
Alshon Jeffery: 11.0 PFP
Jay Ajayi: 9.0 PFP
Jake Elliott: 9.0 PFP
Nick Foles: 8.5 PFP
Corey Clement: 6.5 PFP
LeGarrette Blount: 6.5 PFP
Torrey Smith: 5.5 PFP

Start 'Em: Derek Carr (15.0 PFP)
Dober Fantasy Points Per Game: 14.98

Though Derek Carr has spent 2017 doing his best impersonation of an Alex Smith check-down machine, he’s actually been useful in fantasy over the last few weeks. As he’s recovered from a fractured vertebra, he’s scored more than 15.0 Dober Fantasy Points three times in his last four games.

The way to attack the Philadelphia defense is through the air, taking advantage of an overrated secondary. In their last three games, the Eagles have given up 24.2 DFP to Russell Wilson, 14.2 DFP to Jared Goff and 27.36 DFP to Eli Manning. Perpetually playing from behind, Carr has 115 pass attempts in his last three games. It’s easy to imagine Oakland falling behind in this game, allowing Carr to rack up fantasy points in garbage time.

Sit 'Em: Marshawn Lynch (13.0 PFP)
Dober Fantasy Points Per Game: 10.32

It’s easy to see that Marshawn Lynch still has plenty to offer as a 31-year-old running back. Unfortunately, the Oakland offensive line was struggling even before it lost Pro-Bowl left tackle Donald Penn to a season-ending foot injury.

Now Lynch, who has scored more than 13.0 Dober Fantasy Points just four times this season, will match up against the best front seven in the league. Philadelphia leads the NFL in time of possession and rushing yards allowed this season, setting Lynch up for a low-scoring game.

Start 'Em: Nick Foles (8.5 PFP)
Dober Fantasy Points Per Game: 5.14

He’s no Carson Wentz, but Nick Foles did a good impersonation in Week 15 against the Giants. Foles completed 63 percent of his passes for 237 yards, four touchdowns and no turnovers.

Some will retort that his production came against one of the worst defenses in football, but the fact is that Oakland’s defense is as bad or worse than that of the Giants. The Raiders are among the worst in the league at defending the pass and have given up 8.5 Dober Fantasy Points or more to every quarterback they’ve faced this season.

Foles may not be a very good quarterback, but he is surrounded by an excellent offensive line and a solid group of skill-position players. That should be enough to get over 8.5 DFP against a terrible defense.

Sit 'Em: LeGarrette Blount (6.5 PFP)
Dober Fantasy Points Per Game: 6.95

With each passing week, it appears that LeGarrette Blount is getting phased out of the Philadelphia offense. After tallying double-digit touches in nine of his first 11 games, Blount has 24 touches for 70 yards in his last three games combined.

Meanwhile, Jay Ajayi has seen his role grow each week and has 42 touches for 215 yards over the same span. Blount has seemingly fallen out of favor with the Philadelphia coaching staff and has scored more than 6.5 Dober Fantasy Points exactly once since the Ajayi trade six games ago.

We recommend fading Blount on Dober Play Cards unless there are major changes to his role in the offense.