The Oakland Raiders head into their Monday Night Football showdown with their arch-rivals, the Denver Broncos, with plenty of question marks for the season. The good news for fantasy football though is they have some serious playmakers and a reasonable amount of continuity on offense. As head coach, Hue Jackson can continue running his big play offense and rack up some serious fantasy value for the likes of Darren McFadden, Jacoby Ford, Jason Campbell and others.
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Darren McFadden
numberFire.com Projections: 15.31 FP - 80.00 rushing yards, 0.67 rushing touchdowns, 3.58 receptions, 28.80 receiving yards, 0.07 receiving touchdowns
Analysis: McFadden has proven that when healthy he is a complete threat in both the rushing game and the receiving game. Health has been an issue for McFadden but for now he is ready to go. As long as he is healthy he is a must-start every week.
Jason Campbell
numberFire.com Projections: 16.48 FP - 225.62 passing yards, 1.60 TDs, 0.53 INTs, 13.18 rushing yards, 0.13 rushing TDs
Analysis: Campbell has been rather inconsistent throughout his career but he gets a passing matchup that could yield huge dividends on Monday. The Broncos secondary is in a state of transition as they try and get much younger fairly quickly. They still have veteran Champ Bailey but they've made several moves in the secondary that could be big long term, but will include some growing pains in the short term. Take advantage of it while you can.
Jacoby Ford
numberFire.com Projections: 4.98 FP - 1.90 receptions, 34.39 receiving yards, 0.24 TDs
Analysis: I have to admit, I am incredibly bullish on the young Ford. As a rookie Ford showed serious big play potential with a mixture of return, receiving and rushing touchdowns. While McFadden remains the biggest every down threat, Jacoby Ford will remain a consistent threat in part because the team mixes in a variety of packages for him. He is not necessarily an every week starter, but there Ford has huge potential.
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Michael Bush
numberFire.com Projections: 4.17 FP - 25.21 rushing yards, 0.19 touchdowns
Analysis: I think over the course of the 2011 NFL season, Michael Bush will have a good deal of fantasy value as a possible replacement for Michael Bush. The Raiders are a big play team but they also mix in some serious rushing and Bush will get his share of carries against the Broncos. However, Bush is a guy who's value on your team is more for when/if McFadden gets hurt. Bush could prove a decent bye-week fill in with a healthy McFadden, but he's not a guy to start right away.
Darrius Heyward-Bey/Louis Murphy
numberFire.com Projections: 3.23 FP/3.64 - 1.60/1.92 receptions, 21.64/26.68 receiving yards, 0.17/0.16 TDs
Analysis: For now, Jacoby Ford strikes me as the only wide receiver worth starting on the Raiders for now. DHB and/or Murphy could provide some value as the season moves along, but neither has the big play potential of Ford. If for some reason you have them on your team, hold off starting them.
Kevin Boss
numberFire Projections: 4.44 FP - 2.54 receptions, 34.46 receiving yards, 0.17 touchdowns
Analysis: Boss doesn't get a ton of respect in fantasy football, but he can be a decent bye week fill-in. Zach Miller did great things as a tight end in the Raiders offense and that bodes well for Boss. However, it's a good idea to wait and see how he will be used in this offense before getting him into your starting lineup.
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.