Now entering his third season as the signal caller in Oakland, Derek
Carr has begun to establish himself as a leader in this offense
and he has all the attributes of a franchise quarterback. Carr fell
just 13 yards short of 4,000 yards off of just 350 completions,
adding an impressive ratio of 32 touchdowns to only 13 interceptions.
The improvements in the Oakland offense were some of the most dramatic
of any team in 2015 and off-season workouts with star wide receiver
Amari Cooper should help the two establish chemistry even earlier
in the season. That duo, along with veteran Michael Crabtree, should
once again be among the toughest combinations to stop for opposing
defenses. Concerns with Carr’s fantasy value include the Raiders
improved defense and the potential of a stronger running game, which
could lead to fewer total pass attempts for the offense. Still,
a more efficient passing game should lead to plenty of fantasy opportunities
for Carr to again finish as a borderline QB1 by the end of the season.
Latavius Murray took over as the Raiders’ starting running
back in 2015 and did enough to keep that role going forward. While
many believed that veteran Roy Helu would be a big part of the offense,
particularly in the passing game, that turned out to be far from
the truth. While Helu was a deep afterthought, Murray touched the
ball an impressive 307 total times, including 41 receptions. While
his yards per carry tumbled over an entire yard per carry, that
is to be expected when a player touches the ball as often as Murray
did.
While Murray was a top 10 back in 2015, there is a real opportunity
for him to expand on those numbers here in 2016, considering the
Raiders only added a fifth-round draft pick to the running back
mix this off-season. After being one of the most explosive backs
in the league in 2014, Murray took a big step back in that department
in 2015, which led to him finish with more than 100 total yards
just three times on the season. However, Murray kept his subpar
games at a reasonable level and the Raiders have been investing
in their offensive line in recent seasons including this off-season
when they acquired former Baltimore offensive lineman Kelechi Osemele
who is expected to play guard in Oakland. While he doesn’t
have the big name appeal of some of the players being drafted ahead
of him, Murray is among the safest picks on the board, especially
where he is being taken (Rd3/4). He’s an ideal RB2 for season-long
leagues and has real RB1 upside, especially if he can just get a
few more opportunities near the goal line.
A fifth round draft pick, rookie DeAndre Washington is gaining
some steam heading into the 2016 season. A small, shifty back,
Washington has to work on his pass protection in order to earn
a bigger role in the offense, but he does have the potential to
be a viable change-of-pace back as early as this season and steal
a good chunk of work on third-downs. The Raiders staff has expressed
excitement about Washington and there’s really not much
competition down the depth chart, so look for him to be Murray’s
primary backup and could be in a line for a big role should Murray
suffer an injury as he has in the past.
Touted as the most NFL-ready wide receiver prospect in years,
Amari Cooper burst onto the scene with an impressive rookie campaign
for Oakland. Cooper hauled in 72 passes including six touchdown
receptions while leading the team with 1,070 yards. While Cooper’s
final statistics were solid, he did trail off a bit in the second
half, in part due to a lingering foot issue. It’s been revealed
that Cooper suffered from plantar fasciitis and the Raiders considered
cutting his season short. Considering the injury he played through,
his body of work showed that he is capable of producing big numbers
in an NFL offense and an off-season of working heavily with quarterback
Derek Carr should lead to even more cohesiveness. Now heading
into his sophomore season, Cooper appears poised to put up borderline
WR1 fantasy numbers in what is expected to be a solid Oakland
offense. Cooper was the first Raiders wide receiver to top 1,000
yards receiving since Randy Moss did so all the way back in 2005.
If Cooper can stay healthy, there’s little reason to believe
that he won’t do it again in 2016.
He may be the perceived “WR2” in the Oakland offense,
but Michael Crabtree quietly out-produced Amari Cooper in 2015.
It wasn’t by much and a lot of it had to do with Cooper’s
foot injury, but Crabtree’s 85 receptions and 9 touchdowns
led the Raiders and he finished behind only Cooper with 922 yards.
Now heading into his second season in the Oakland offense, Crabtree
and the Raiders appear ready to take another step forward toward
becoming an even more formidable offense. What’s great about
the Raiders is that while they don’t put up huge numbers
as a team, the numbers they do produce are typically fairly predictable.
There isn’t much depth in this wide receiver group, so the
majority of the targets, yards and especially touchdowns go to
either Crabtree or Cooper.
While most believe that Cooper will out-produce Crabtree in 2016,
there’s still plenty of room for both players to be fantasy
assets. Crabtree’s tight route running and excellent hands
pair well with Derek Carr’s strengths, so don’t expect
him to have a huge drop off in numbers even if Cooper becomes
an even bigger part of the offense.
It’s been quite a while since we’ve seen an Oakland
Raiders tight end have significant fantasy value, but if there’s
an opportunity for someone to get onto the fantasy radar, it has
to be second-year tight end Clive Walford. Walford caught 28 passes
for 329 yards and three touchdowns as a rookie with all three
of his scores coming in a four week stretch during the middle
of the season. Oddly enough, while his fantasy production didn’t
show it, he and quarterback Derek Carr seemed to gain chemistry
toward the end of the season. One concern with Walford’s
fantasy potential is that he still has not secured a consistent
role in the offense. Mychal Rivera could be a thorn in fantasy
owners’ sides if he continues to get consistent snaps, which
would certainly stunt the growth of Walford as a fantasy producer
in what could be a fairly high-powered Oakland offense.
