When two of the bottom 10 scoring defenses face off against one another, fantasy managers everywhere begin to salivate — and while the Raiders offense has slowed down of late, I think the matchup between Las Vegas and Seattle has plenty to be excited about.
While we normally split this column between “starts” and “sits”, this week, we’re going entirely positive (unless you’re a fan of defense). To be honest, there are a handful of other guys (who didn’t make this list) that I’d feel pretty good about putting in my lineup! But alas, we’re limited to three…
As a reminder: this isn’t a prediction of who will be the best or worst players from this matchup, but rather who will outperform or underperform their fantasy rankings this week.
START: Derek Carr
Seattle is 21st in both passing yards allowed and passing touchdowns allowed, which makes me think Derek Carr is in for another solid day. Carr has thrown exactly two touchdowns in three straight games, and I think that streak continues — with the potential for even more. Currently slated as the No. 16 quarterback for the week — behind guys like Trevor Lawrence, Kirk Cousins and Jimmy Garoppolo — I feel good about Carr outperforming that rank this week.
Prediction: 260 passing yards, 3 touchdowns
START: Josh Jacobs
We know the Raiders want to stay balanced on offense and establish the run — and both of those things should be easy this week. The Seahawks come into this one allowing the 28th-most rushing yards per game (140.9), while Jacobs comes into the game third in the league with 930 yards in 10 games thus far. After a few down weeks in which he was kept under 100 rushing yards, Jacobs got back over last week and Sunday I think he makes it two games in a row.
Prediction: 115 rushing yards, 35 receiving yards, 1 TD (receiving)
START: Tyler Lockett
No sits this week, but I like Lockett to continue yet another under-the-radar season as one of the league’s better receivers. Projected to be the No. 18 receiver this week (one spot behind his teammate, DK Metcalf), I think Lockett has a big day moving around the formation against a banged-up (and pedestrian) defensive backfield. Lockett has been kept under 60 yards in three of his last five, but I think he gets back on track this week.
