The Oakland Raiders return home this Sunday to face the Cleveland Browns a week after the death of Al Davis. It is safe to say it will be a crazy atmosphere at the O.Co Coliseum with few dry eyes in the building. The Raiders will have tributes throughout the game to their legendary owner and it should be a rocking atmosphere.
The Raiders will look to avoid an emotional letdown following a tough victory over the Houston Texans. The Raiders are proving week by week that they are a legitimate contender in the AFC. As they have improved they have also shown they have more and more viable fantasy weapons. They have to work on consistency outside of Darren McFadden and Sebastian Janikowski, but they are improving as a fantasy option.
We are making some adjustments to the Start/Sit categories. I'm breaking up Start into Must Start and Situational Start. Little needs to be said about Must Starts, while Situational Starts raise some question marks.
MUST START
Darren McFadden
numberFire.com Projections: 15.56 FP - 76.37 rushing yards, 0.84 rushing touchdowns, 3.67 receptions, 27.36 receiving yards, 0.06 receiving touchdowns
Sebastian Janikowski
numberFire.com Projections: 10.08 FP - 1.91 FGM, 3.59 XPM
SITUATIONAL START
Darrius Heyward-Bey
numberFire.com Projections: 6.24 FP - 2.80 receptions, 44.60 receiving yards 0.30 touchdowns
Analysis: It has taken a couple years, but DHB might finally be arriving as a legitimate wide receiver in the NFL. After being selected as the first wide receiver in the 2009 NFL Draft, Heyward-Bey has struggled with the drops. This year he has still had some drops, but he has also started to haul in more and more passes. The key is getting the ball in his hands and letting him then take advantage of the ridiculous speed he has.
Our weekly Raiders sit/start suggestions are based on a combination of our knowledge as fans and the weekly projections of numberFire.com. Head over to numberFire.com to get a full breakdown of their weekly projections.