The Oakland Raiders lost again Sunday, but Derek Carr had a very strong fantasy football performance along with Andre Holmes, Darren McFadden and James Jones and those names are solid start options in Week 7 for next weekend over Maurice Jones-Drew, as those players all stepped up against the Chargers in a losing effort and they could be solid starters moving forward.
Carr had the best game of his short career on Sunday and for the first time in ages Darren McFadden looked like the back everyone thought he could be when he was drafted. Jones had another solid performance, while Holmes was the breakout star with over 100 yards receiving and two touchdowns in the game. Carr is a solid option moving forward for anyone looking for a QB replacement for a bye week or an injury, as he had 283 yards in the game and four touchdown passes and he nearly had another one in the matchup.
Holmes showed that he can make big plays and Darren McFadden also had a vintage game for him and could be a sleeper going forward after being disappointing to start the year. McFadden has not been able to stay healthy through the course of his career and while he has not been very productive this season, he has been able to remain on the field for all five of the Raiders' games. This season McFadden has 231 yards rushing and he has been a much better option than Drew, who has been dealing with injuries.
The Raiders are hoping that Carr and McFadden have both turned the corner, as they need Carr to be the QB of the future with the way they have been playing. The team played its best game last week and lost and the Raiders are looking for McFadden to finally get back to his 2010 form when he had a career best 1157 yards along with 47 catches for another 500 yards. Carr now has over 1000 yards for the season with eight touchdowns and five picks and he has been better than Geno Smith, EJ Manuel and Mike Glennon as back end quarterbacks and he could be a solid spot starter moving forward.
Holmes now has 15 catches on the season for 269 yards and has played in five games and he could be a very solid option moving forward. The Raiders have been waiting for someone to step up at WR with Denarius Moore not getting it done and with Kenbrell Thompkins coming in, Holmes could be that guy now. Last season Holmes had 25 catches for 431 yards and he just put up his best line of his career. Holmes had four catches for 121 yards against the Chargers with two TDs and that could get Carr to trust him more in red zone situations.
James Jones has been the most consistent option for the Raiders this season and adding someone like Holmes to the mix could really open things up for him. Jones had five catches for 56 yards and a TD for a very solid day and he now has 26 catches for 328 yards and three scores this season. Carr could be helped along greatly by Holmes and so can the entire offense.
