Fantasy Football Player Notes

A healthy Davante Adams has finished no worse than WR5 attached to Aaron Rodgers since 2018, and he ended 2021 third in fantasy points per game at age 29.

Adams' high level of play won't stop in Las Vegas, but his fantasy stock does get slightly dented going from Rodgers to Derek Carr. It's unlikely that Carr hyper-targets Adams to the length of a 28% target share as Rodgers has done for so many seasons. Incumbent Raiders pass-catchers Darren Waller and Hunter Renfrow represent more target competition than Adams has ever played with since becoming the alpha in Green Bay.

The Raiders offense looks to reach new heights in 2022 with No. 1 wide receiver Davante Adams added to the fold. And that greatly benefits the team's lead ball-carrier Josh Jacobs. A more efficient offense lends itself to more scoring opportunities, and Jacobs will reap the most rewards as the team's primary red-zone back.

Last year's RB13 smashed career highs in all receiving categories in 2021 despite playing alongside Kenyan Drake and Jalen Richard. Injuries to the back-ups boosted Jacobs' role as a receiver slightly, but it was not the only cause.

There was a deliberate effort to feature Jacobs more as a receiver with him catching at least two passes in 12 of his 15 games played. And more importantly, the receiving capability that Jacobs displayed puts to rest the narrative that he is "game-script" dependent. Whether the Raiders are winning or losing in a loaded 2022 AFC West, JJ has proven he can be used in all facets.

Now the Raiders did elect to sign both Brandon Bolden and Ameer Abdullah this offseason to bolster their running back stable behind Jacobs. Bolden has been a special teams guy nearly his entire career, so I doubt he carves out any legitimate role on offense.

Abdullah has been used as a third-down back on the several teams he has been on at the NFL level, but I am not ready to declare him as a huge threat to Jacobs' workload. Sure he might work in some, but not enough to hurt Jacobs' bottom-line value. The team also drafted Zamir White in the fourth round, but I would not expect much from White in year one based on Josh McDaniels' track record from New England of not featuring Day 3 rookie RBs.

The new head coach is more likely to run Jacobs into the ground on an expiring contract as he did with Dion Lewis, LeGarrette Blount and Shane Vereen during his Patriots tenure.

And besides, the red-zone role is the most significant for fantasy points, and that looks to be clearly in Jacobs' grasp.

Two-down back Damien Harris was in the red-zone role for the Patriots last season and flourished because of it. He ranked fourth in carries (46) and third in rushing TDs (13) from inside the 20-yard line.

There's bound to be some hesitancy about drafting tight ends early after guys like George Kittle, Darren Waller, Kyle Pitts, T.J. Hockenson and Logan Thomas failed to live up to their lofty projections (due to injury or not).

But the process was still sound behind adding some of those players in the early rounds if you look at their per-game production. Speaking to Waller, the Raiders tight end came in third in expected fantasy points per game (14.6), which ranked top-20 among all tight ends and wide receivers. He also ranked sixth in points per game (12.1) and second in targets per game (8.5)

The major concern with Waller in 2022 is how much Davante Adams will eat into his targets. However, I'd focus more on valuing Waller based on how good the Raiders offense as a whole can be with the addition of Adams. I'd be willing to forego one or fewer targets per game for Waller, if it means more scoring opportunities.

The big-bodied Black Hole tight end is primed for positive touchdown regression after converting just two of his 10 end-zone targets into touchdowns in 2021.

There's really not much left to say when it comes to Hunter Renfrow. The kid's a certified stud and doesn't get the respect he deserves. The Raiders slot receiver hung a WR13 overall finish last season due to a spectacular late-season surge.

He went over 100 receiving yards in three straight games (Weeks 12-14) while maintaining a 25% target share.

From Week 12 onward, his production generated a WR8 standing in half-point scoring.

Renfrow made the most of the opportunities he got in 2021, and that won't change in 2022. Adding Davante Adams and Darren Waller will make targets for Renfrow harder to come by, but stay rest assured that the shifty wideout will perform if either guy is forced to miss time.

Carr threw for 4,804 yards in 2021, beating his previous single-season high by 701 yards. However, he threw only 23 TD passes in 17 games and ranked outside the top 15 among QBs in fantasy points per game. Carr has reached 30 TD passes only once in eight NFL seasons, and he doesn't run much. The addition of WR Davante Adams, Carr's former college teammate at Fresno State, raises the ceiling here. Still, it's probably best to view Carr as a midrange QB2.

Didn't fully cash in on his chance after Darren Waller got hurt. Moreau has gone from prospect to suspect.