Game Info
Kickoff: Sunday, November 1st at 1:00 PM ET
Location: FirstEnergy Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio
Betting Odds: LV +2.5, 53.5 total via Oddsshark
Network: FOX
Las Vegas Raiders
Quarterback
Derek Carr (Start, QB2)
Derek Carr remains to be an up and down quarterback not only in real life but in fantasy as well. The Raiders offense does appear consistent on a week to week basis, scoring at least 20 points in every game this season. However, Carr is generally a matchup dependent fantasy option. He’s set to face a Cleveland defense that has given up the seventh-most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season, and so if you’re in a bye week bind, he’s a viable option.
Running Backs
Josh Jacobs (Start, RB1)
Chalk up Week 7’s disappointing stat line to facing the Bucs front-seven. Josh Jacobs only mustered up 17 rush yards on 10 carries and caught three of four targets for 14 yards. The Browns has given up the 12th fewest fantasy points to running backs so far this season, but I would expect a stronger finish this week. Cleveland did just give up five catches for 71 yards and a score to Giovani Bernard.
Wide Receivers/Tight End
Nelson Agholor (Start, WR3), Henry Ruggs III (Start, FLEX), Hunter Renfrow (Sit), Darren Waller (Start, TE1)
Nelson Agholor has made a name for himself in Las Vegas as of late, something he couldn’t do with the Eagles in years past. He enters Week 8 having scored three times over the last three games, with Week 7 being his best performance on the season; five receptions on nine targets for 107 yards. He’s become a viable starting option as the clear-cut WR1 for the Raiders and will face a Cleveland defense that has given up the 2nd most fantasy points to the WR position this season. Henry Ruggs III will remain a boom-or-bust start until he strings together consistent weeks, and Hunter Renfrow is firmly off the starting radar.
Darren Waller remains a locked-in TE1 and the preferred target throughout each game for Carr. He has scored in two straight games and will look to keep that going against a Browns defense that has given up the 12th most fantasy points to TEs on the year.
Cleveland Browns
Quarterback
Baker Mayfield (Start, QB2)
Death, taxes, and Baker Mayfield performing well with doubters in his ear. It was a rough start to the Bengals game – 0 for 5 with an interception, but Mayfield was able to turn it around and put in his best performance in recent times. He finished the game 22-of-28 for 297 yards and five touchdowns. Rib injury and all, Mayfield will be on the QB2 radar in what should be a high scoring affair against a Vegas defense that has given up the fifth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks on the season.
Running Backs
Kareem Hunt (Start, RB1)
The D’Ernest Johnson experiment in life without Nick Chubb never came to fruition, as Kareem Hunt remains a three-down back for the Browns. He hasn’t scored a rushing touchdown since Week 4 but continues to have double-digit carries and of course steady pass-game involvement; and he’s found the end zone four times through the air this season. His production potential will remain the same this week as he’s going to face a Raiders defense that has given up the second-most fantasy points to running backs on the season.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Jarvis Landry (Start, WR3), Rashard Higgins (Start, FLEX), Donovan Peoples-Jones (Sit), Harrison Bryant (Start, TE2), David Njoku (Sit)
With Odell Beckham Jr.’s season officially over due to a suffered ACL last week against the Bengals, this should be the time for Jarvis Landry to step up. He hasn’t found the end zone yet this year, and also hasn’t amassed over 100 receiving yards. Rashard Higgins is a hot waiver add this week and is coming off a six target, six reception game in which he had 110 yards. Rookie Donovan Peoples-Jones caught a big touchdown against Cincinnati and should be an under the radar add when everyone is running to snag Higgins. If you can afford to wait and see his involvement post-Beckham Jr. life, he’s a stash for me this week and could end up being a start thereafter.
With Austin Hooper sidelined after undergoing an emergency appendectomy, Harrison Bryant and David Njoku each scored against the Bengals; Bryant with two and Njoku once. Bryant out-targeted him 5 to 3, and I would expect the same this week. If I had to choose one Cleveland TE to start, it’s Bryant. It’s worth noting the Raiders defense has given up the 14th fewest fantasy points to the tight end position this season.
-Matthew Cava (@cavaM_ Twitter & Reddit)