START: DEREK CARR, QB, OAKLAND RAIDERS
MATCHUP: @ San Francisco 49ers
PRICE – $5,400 (DraftKings) l $7,300 (FantasyFactor) l $16,000 (FanDuel – Thursday Slate ONLY)
Apparently all Oakland had to do was trade Amari Cooper, bench Martavis Bryant, and place Marshawn Lynch on IR, to get back the Derek Carr of 2016. In the midst of a fire sale before the trade deadline, and rumors of him crying on the field, Derek Carr played his best game of football in two years last Sunday and likely shut up any trade chatter involving the Oakland gunslinger.
Carr scored the first rushing touchdown of his five-year career last Sunday, while also tossing three touchdowns through the air. Most notably, Carr enjoyed only the second turnover free game of his 2018 campaign. Without a true number one receiver, Carr was able to spread the ball around and not force passes.
The uptick in Jalen Richard’s playing time (8 receptions on 8 targets) gave Carr the security blanket he’s lacked all season. This week, Carr gets a great match-up against a 49’ers defense ranking 28th in PPG. San Francisco has surrendered at least 27 points in six of eight games on the season, giving up 30 points in three of those games. While you may not know all the names on the receiving ends of his passes, Carr’s recent performance, combined with a stellar match-up against a defense that has ceded the 8th most fantasy points to quarterbacks through the halfway mark, makes Carr a solid play in all fantasy formats.
SIT: JORDY NELSON, WR, OAKLAND RAIDERS
MATCHUP: @ San Francisco 49ers
PRICE – $4,600 (DraftKings) l $7,800 (FantasyFactor) l $9,000 (FanDuel – Thursday Slate ONLY)
Many thought that the logical replacement for the now-departed Amari Cooper would be Jordy Nelson. Oakland and Derek Carr had different ideas. Carr completing 28 passes and tossing three touchdowns, but largely opted to work the flats and the seams. While this boosted Brandon LaFell (and reminded Raiders fans that is still in the league), Nelson came up short, reeling in just one reception and making him a fantasy no show for the week.
Nelson has been a major disappointment since arriving in Oakland, most notably over the past two games, where he’s totaled only three receptions for 20 yards. His anomaly of a performance in week three, where Nelson went for 173 yards, is actually more yards than Nelson has compiled throughout his other six games this season, a combined (164 yards). Smart fantasy players wrote off Nelson as a viable option weeks ago, and if the past few games are any indication, so have the Raiders.
