Fantasy Football Player Notes

Jacobs had an excellent rookie season, despite missing three games with injury. He flashed explosiveness and the ability to continue to gain yards after contact. To the extent there was a downside, it's that he barely factored in as a receiver (just 27 targets). Although he's expressed a desire to be far more involved in the passing game, the presence of pass-catching running backs, including Jalen Richard, makes that less likely, though the recent trade of Lynn Bowden Jr. helps Jacobs' cause in that regard. Regardless of any increased work in the passing game, Jacob should have a workhorse role and be drafted as a borderline RB1.

Waller should be the fifth tight end off the board, but fantasy managers should temper their expectations a bit. The Raiders added Jason Witten, Henry Ruggs, Lynn Bowden, and Bryan Edwards, so there will be plenty of more competition for targets. Also, remember, last season, the Raiders assumed they'd have Antonio Brown and then had to coordinate a new offensive gameplan on the fly. With their new additions, the Raiders have had months to figure out how to involve them in their offense, so Waller's usage and target share should likely decrease. Again, he should be the fifth tight end off the board, but he might not be worth the draft capital you'll need to spend to acquire him given the later options available at the position.

Drake hasn't been quite as dominant as expected in the early going of the season, with the Cardinals leaning into the pass a bit more than expected and Kyler Murray stealing some rushing touchdowns. But Drake's floor is high given hi workload, and in the right matchup, he should still put up big numbers. Expect him to perform as a strong RB2 for the rest of the season.

Brown will miss Week 7's game against the Jets with a knee injury. Although he played in Week 6, he was entirely a non-factor, and he looks like he hasn't been healthy in several weeks. Brown has shown enough to be considered a starter in fantasy leagues when healthy, so fantasy managers should try to continue to roster him if they have the room.

Ruggs will miss Week 3's game against the Patriots with knee and hamstring issues. It's unclear if his long-term availability is threatened, but it doesn't matter all that much for fantasy. With Darren Waller soaking up the targets, there's little room for Ruggs even when he is healthy.

Richard saw a dip in production with Josh Jacobs on the roster, but he'll always be the passing-downs thorn in Jacobs' side. The Raiders gave Richard a two-year extension this offseason, so despite talk of Jacobs' added involvement in the passing game, Richard should continue to hold his role. Unfortunately, that role isn't worth that much, particularly with Lynn Bowden added to the mix. Richard is worth a look in extremely deep PPR formats, nothing more.

Edwards will miss Week 4's game against the Bulls with an ankle injury. He has yet to see more than three targets or catch more than two passes in a game. There's no reason to roster Edwards in redraft formats.