The Oakland Raiders welcome the Denver Broncos to town in a key divisional matchup. The Raiders are working in their new quarterback Carson Palmer and will look to make some things happen. Given the changes on the team and some pertinent injuries, the Oakland Raiders week nine fantasy football options are a bit different than normal.
Raiders starting running back Darren McFadden is sidelined with a sprained foot and will not play. That means backup Michael Bush will get the bulk of the carries. Bush is one of the better backup running backs in the NFL, and getting a start against the struggling Broncos is a great fantasy matchup. He is a must-start.
Oakland Raiders kicker Sebastian Janikowski was questionable heading into the weekend, but after testing out his hamstring on Saturday, he was proclaimed good to go. Although he might be limited on 50+ yard field goals, a potentially struggling Raiders offense could mean a host of shorter field goal opportunities. You should get him into your lineup.
The only other significant Raiders fantasy option is the defense. Against Tim Tebow they could put up some solid numbers. They are not an every week play, but this is a solid week for them.
Beyond that, there are just too many question marks with the rest of the team. Darrius Heyward-Bey is arguably the best option for Carson Palmer. Given how little time Palmer has spent with the offense, it is hard to tell which receivers he will connect with early on. We could very well see T.J. Houshmandzadeh have a career resurgence with Palmer. Anything is possible.