The Oakland Raiders are 0-3 on the season, but fantasy football owners have some options to start each week, as James Jones has been very good, while Mychal Rivera could be a sleeper going forward for Derek Carr and this comes as Darren McFadden will be the starter over Maurice Jones-Drew while the RB is dealing with a hand injury alongside backup Latavius Murray and those names could be good options coming up.
McFadden led the team against the Patriots with Drew out and while he is not a great fantasy option right now, he is solid enough for owners in need of RB help. James Jones is the top overall fantasy option for the Raiders and he comes in as the number one on the team over Denarius Moore, Rod Streater, Andre Holmes and Vincent Brown. Jones has 15 catches for 189 yards this season and two touchdowns and he has been a consistent target for Carr this year as he starts for the first time in the NFL.
McFadden had 54 yards against the Patriots and he has 111 yards and a TD this season along with seven catches for 43 yards. McFadden had a TD in the game against the Patriots, but it was called back by a penalty and that was a tough pill to swallow for fantasy owners. Murray right now is not a great fantasy option, but that could change as the season moves along.
Mychal Rivera is a solid sleeper option going forward despite the fact that the Raiders are 0-3, as he has the size and speed to make an impact for the team on offense. Last season he had four touchdowns on 38 catches for 407 yards and he has 10 catches this season for 73 yards, including two catches for 11 yards against the Pats in Week 3. Rivera is not a top TE yet, but he is a very solid option in deeper leagues or in leagues with two TE options.
Murray has just seven yards this season and he had just one yard on three carries against the Patriots on Sunday. Murray has been working as a kick return man as well and he could add points through special teams for fantasy owners. Maurice Jones-Drew was out for the game against the Patriots and that was his second straight game out while dealing with his hand injury. The Raiders knew coming into the season that Drew could go down and that leaves Darren McFadden and Latavius Murray as the main backs and right now McFadden looks to be the player who will get the most carries.
Murray is only an option right now in deeper leagues and he could get more action if McFadden also gets hurt, which is a possibility based on his past issues with injuries. McFadden had his best season in 2010 when he played in 13 games and rushed for 1157 yards and added 47 catches for over 500 yards, but he has not been close to that in any year in his career. The team is hoping he can bounce back with Drew out to lead the team at RB.
