2023 Team Previews: Las Vegas Raiders

Las Vegas Raiders Fantasy Preview 2023

All ADP data is courtesy of Fantasy Pros.

** = target in drafts at this ADP

Top 120

**Davante Adams, WR (ADP: 16): Adams has long been either the best, or very close to the best WR in fantasy and this ADP does reflect a healthy amount of respect for him. But, he’s currently the WR8 off the board, and that’s actually a little disrespectful. Adams was PFF’s No. 4 ranked receiver, and he came in second sorting just by receiving grade (90.5) behind only Tyreek Hill. One of the narratives around Adams in 2022 was the big QB downgrade from Aaron Rodgers, with whom he shared a telepathic connection with, to Derek Carr. Adams responded by catching 100 passes – the third straight season in triple digits – and piling up 1,516 yards and 14 touchdowns. He’s “downgrading” a bit again in the eyes of many with Jimmy Garoppolo at QB, but Adams’ skills render that moot.

There was no route where Adams was below average, and only one route (Outs) in which he was anything but above average. He ranked in the 94th percentile vs. man coverage and 96th vs. press, while crushing zone at an 83.7% rate (88th percentile). We’re looking at a player who has gone for 100+ catches, 1,300+ yards and double-digit touchdowns in four of his last five seasons, with the only misfire coming in 2019 when he only played in 12 games. Adams is a rock solid foundational player, and in a season when WRs are getting pushed into Round 1 more than ever, Adams’ ADP is firmly in Round 2. That’s incredible value.

**Josh Jacobs, RB (ADP: 23): Jacobs’ holdout is alarming for sure, but without clarity on it, we have to just look at him as if he’ll be in uniform on Week 1. After all, financially, that’s the smartest move. Jacobs came into 2022 with some doubts about whether he’d be phased out of the offense, only to have the best season of his career with over 2,000 yards from scrimmage and 12 touchdowns. And while 2022 was undoubtedly his best season, Jacobs has been elite for basically his whole career.

He has been over 1,000 rushing yards in three of four seasons, scored double-digit rushing TDs twice in four years, and averaged 14.5 or more carries per game in all of his seasons. If volume is your thing, and it should be, then Jacobs has been among the NFL’s most reliable options since he arrived in the league. He also came into the NFL with the rep of a pass catcher, and in the last two seasons he’s grown in that area drawing 64 targets in back-to-back seasons and catching 50+ both times. Of course, the prospect of missing all of camp does give me some worry about his conditioning and increased injury risk, but that’s nitpicky. This guy is a bona fide RB1, and this ADP represents a value.

Fantasy Relevant (121-200 ADP)

Jakobi Meyers, WR (ADP: 158): Meyers is a talented player with somewhat underwhelming stats, making him a tough evaluation. On one hand, Meyers is entering Year 5 of his career, and he has never hit 900 receiving yards or 85 receptions despite a reputation as a “PPR guy.” On the other hand, he’s been pigeonholed as a slot guy on the Patriots, a team that doesn’t throw the ball very much and jettisoned their Hall of Fame QB Tom Brady just as Meyers came into his own. The truth is that Meyers is a good receiver, but his strengths don’t necessarily lend themselves to fantasy stardom. Per Reception Perception, he posted good success rates vs. man, press and zone, but struggled with winning on nine routes, corners and outs. He dominated on digs, curls, slants and routes to the flat. He’s a fine separator on short and intermediate routes, which are great helps to QBs and offenses trying to move the chains. They’re less valuable to fantasy managers, unless he’s accumulating so much volume that he becomes a PPR monster. That was the dream for Meyers, but it didn’t become reality for the Pats in a low-volume pass game, and it won’t come true with the Raiders either because Adams soaks up so much target share. Good receiver, not a great one and likely just a desperation fill-in type guy. He doesn’t possess the ceiling I’d feel is worth gambling on.

Jimmy Garoppolo, QB (ADP: 180): Garoppolo was once so exciting because we’d seen glimpses and wanted to experience a full season. Well, we’re in Year 10 now of Jimmy G, and we rarely ever get a full season. And when we do…it’s okay. That won’t change in Vegas; Garoppolo isn’t someone you can draft as a QB1 or season-long starter, even with a receiver as good as Adams. He’ll make for a solid streamer at times, especially if the Raiders will allow him to throw a ton unlike San Francisco did due to their effective running game and a defense that didn’t require them to play catch up. Garoppolo’s primary value is as a steady hand to maintain the high value of the Raiders’ premier skill guys.

Michael Mayer, TE (ADP: 190): Mayer had good numbers at Notre Dame, scoring 16 touchdowns in his final two seasons and surpassing 800 yards in both of them as well as checking in at more than 65 receptions. But, the history of rookie TEs is underwhelming, with guys like Kyle Pitts and Evan Engram ranking among the best we’ve seen, and both of them put up high-yardage, low-TD campaigns. Mayer isn’t quite built like those players, and he’s certainly not going to see the volume they did with Adams in tow. The talent is certainly intriguing, but I have no interest in drafting Mayer. Should he start the season off with a bang, he’ll be worth a waiver claim.

Zamir White, RB (ADP: 192): White had buzz last offseason about potentially supplanting Jacobs, and then he carried the ball 17 times. I really don’t have any hopes for White, but the other backs in this RB room – Ameer Abdullah and Brandon Bolden – cannot be three-down backs. Should Jacobs hold out into the season or get hurt, White has the best chance of this group of being relevant. The Raiders will probably dip into free agent waters at some point though for additional security, rendering him undraftable.

Deep Cuts (200 & later)

Hunter Renfrow, WR (ADP: 244): Renfrow is really good, but I unfortunately was spot-on when I said I’d avoid him last offseason once they acquired Adams. Renfrow is a precise route runner, and a guy who can’t be guarded in short yardage. When this receiving corps was a barren landscape, he had the exact scenario in which his archetype thrives. He battled injury last season, which hurt his production badly, but he also was seeing significantly less looks because Adams was just as open for bigger chunks of yardage. Now Meyers has been brought in to further muddy the waters. Darren Waller’s departure definitely opens up targets, but Renfrow isn’t going to see enough to matter weekly, and he can’t make up for that in touchdowns. I’d love to see him be traded to a team that needs receiver help.