The Oakland Raiders have the Chiefs at home in Week 12 and for fantasy football owners, Latavius Murray, Mychal Rivera and Darren McFadden are the best start options for the Raiders along with James Jones and Andre Holmes, as those players have the chance to step up for Derek Carr Thursday as the team tries to get its first win of the season against Kansas City.
The Raiders are 0-10 on the season as they move into the back stretch of the season, Murray could see increased carries in the offense. Murray had an injury in his rookie season and with the Raiders winless and the rushing game ineffective, he could be a sleeper for the final six games of the season. The Raiders don't have much to play for other than pride, but fantasy football owners do and as the playoffs get closer, a team like Oakland could be the difference for owners.
Murray had seven touches last week and all reports from local writers as well as ESPN reported Adam Caplan has Murray getting an extended look down the stretch. Darren McFadden has been healthy for the first time in his career, but Maurice Jones-Drew has given him no support and that is why the rushing game ranks last in the league. The team has nothing to lose and now Caplan and Murray likely will be splitting carries moving forward and that could start on Thursday night.
Caplan wrote that Murray got more work in practice this past week leading into the game and that means he could end up with double digit carries after going for 43 yards last week. That was his highest total all season and so were the seven touches, with Murray carrying the ball four times and adding three catches for 16 yards. Jones Drew has literally done nothing this season and he has been one of the worst free agent signings and fantasy football busts this year.
Carr was limited in practice and while he likely will be in the lineup on Thursday, fantasy owners should stay away. The injury to Carr actually could help Murray and McFadden, as the team likely will rush the ball more if he is ailing. This season Carr has been solid while passing for 13 TDs and nine interceptions and he has over 2000 yards passing while completing just under 60 percent of his passes. Carr has not been exceptional as a rookie, but he clearly has some talent and he could be a player that hangs around for this franchise.
The Raiders obviously are not favored in this game, but they have played some tight matchups this season and now they could pull and upset with a win against the Chiefs. Kansas City is heading towards the playoffs and the way they are playing now it's very unlikely that the Raiders do it on Thursday. Jamaal Charles has been running over everything and Alex Smith simply does not turn the ball over and now the Raiders have the chance to try and snap a 10 game losing streak this season.
