Helter Skelter » After the 34-3 loss to the San Francisco 49ers last

Thursday Frostee Rucker Jersey , it is hard to imagine that the Oakland Raiders have a lot of fight left on either side of the football. The Thursday night game looked abysmal and to no surprise Oakland had zero good fantasy outings. On Sunday, the Raiders will have to face the Los Angeles Chargers again. In the first game, the Chargers blew the Raiders out 26-10. For a second straight week, it is going to be bleak for Oakland. Must StartQB Philip RiversNo one knew who Nick Mullens was 24 hours before kickoff last Thursday. Now, football fans across America know this kid’s name. It might be unsafe to think about what a future Hall of Fame quarterback in Philip Rivers will do to the depleted and lifeless Raider defense. RB Melvin GordonIn the first meeting against Oakland, Melvin Gordon tallied one touchdown and 120 yards from scrimmage. Amazingly, that should be considered a monumental win for the Raiders defense as Gordon has gashed teams for 124 yards from scrimmage per game and 10 touchdowns in seven games. So in the first meeting, Gordon put him numbers similar to his average. When players go against the Oakland defense, they usually perform A LOT better than their average. Expect that to be the case this Sunday for Gordon. WR Keenan AllenKeenan Allen this season is averaging close to six receptions for 80 yards per game but has just one touchdown all year. After racking up 152 yards from scrimmage against a much better Seattle defense last week, Allen is trending in the right direction. He will be able to put up big yards as he has done that all year. And this would be the game for Allen to find the end zone since he is playing the same defense that had people drawing connections between Mullens and Joe Montana. Proceed with CautionQB Derek CarrDerek Carr is never a smart man to bet against. And there is no doubt he will want to prove the doubters wrong after last week’s performance in Santa Clara. But Carr just hasn’t had enough time to throw the football this season due to the many injuries up front and the inexperience at the tackle positions. And Los Angeles, led by Melvin Ingram, has gotten to the quarterback 22 times in the first eight games. If you ever lose sight of Carr during the game, just check the ground. That is where he will probably be after many passing plays. The one saving grace for Carr, garbage time can be a great weapon for fantasy quarterbacks. RB Jalen RichardBased on what I said about Carr, I am not confident in the offense’s ability to consistently move the ball this game. However, that could be a benefit for Jalen Richard. If the team is down big early, Richard will see many snaps and could see a lot of dump offs in the second half if the defense is giving a lot of cushion. BenchTE Jared CookJared Cook hasn’t performed well lately. He has had 20 yards receiving or less in three of the last four games. One of those games was against the Chargers in which he had just 20 yards. And again, if Carr isn’t going to be upright Maxx Crosby Oakland Raiders Jersey , it is tough to imagine Cook getting a ton of targets. RB Doug MartinIn the first meeting, Oakland ran the ball 12 times for 36 yards. The team is less motivated now than it was earlier in the season and is having more issues protecting the quarterback and throwing the football. If the Raiders are one-dimensional (more like zero-dimensional) and struggling to pick up first downs, Doug Martin is not going to get enough carries to provide a solid fantasy day. Raiders D/STI think every single player on the Chargers’ roster was in the must start category. ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) — Soon after Mike Mayock moved from the role of draft analyst to Oakland Raiders general manager, former Baltimore GM Ozzie Newsome warned him that having an opinion is far easier than making a decision.Now that his first draft as an NFL general manager is over, Mayock said that resonated with him with each decision he made all weekend.“The difference is just ownership,” Mayock said Saturday. “Skin in the game. It just meant something different this week for me. At the end of the day, we won’t know how we did for a couple of years. But we couldn’t feel better today because we stayed consistent to our philosophy and we drafted the kind of guy we want to bring into this building.”One common theme that developed was that the Raiders were focused on more than just size, speed and how players looked on game tape.With the team moving to Las Vegas in 2020, Mayock and coach Jon Gruden also wanted to make sure they added players who could handle whatever distractions would come with being in Sin City.“It’s very, very challenging,” Gruden said. “You have to have a lot of maturity. We wanted guys that weren’t only great football players in talents but guys that could handle the circumstances of being front-line players, leaders, and also having a lot of maturity to handle the move of the franchise.”The players the Raiders drafted this weekend fit that bill with first-round picks Clemson defensive end Clelin Ferrell and Alabama running back Josh Jacobs overcoming difficult childhoods to excel on and off the field as college players.The Raiders ended up with other players with strong leadership skills on day three of the draft, including LSU tight end Foster Moreau in the fourth round and Clemson receiver Hunter Renfrow in the fifth.“Obviously, from a player standpoint, people might think that players’ focus can get off track when you move to a city like Las Vegas,” Ferrell said. “From what I know so far Maxx Crosby Oakland Raiders Jersey , we’re trying to bring in the right guys that, regardless of the situation of the outside sources, they have a vision for themselves as far as the football player in their life.“Obviously, when you’re young you’re going to enjoy life, but you have a vision, so anything that detracts off that you’re not going to let it interfere. It’s all about making the right decisions.”The Raiders also targeted players with winning pedigrees with four of the picks coming from players who participated in the national championship game this past season.Oakland took three from Clemson — Ferrell, cornerback Trayvon Mullen in round two and Renfrow — and Jacobs from Alabama. Gruden even joked on his congratulatory call to Renfrow on Saturday that the Raiders would look to add Tigers coach Dabo Sweeney next.Here are some other takeaways from draft weekend:WHO THEY GOTThe Raiders came into the draft with three first-round picks thanks to last year’s deals that sent star edge rusher Khalil Mack to Chicago and receiver Amari Cooper to Dallas. Oakland turned those picks into Ferrell, Jacobs and Mississippi State safety Jonathan Abram. Mayock then got busy the next two days, trading down four times to get more picks and then up once to seize Renfrow in the fifth round.The other players selected were: Mullen in the second round; Eastern Michigan defensive end Maxx Crosby, Houston cornerback Isaiah Johnson and Moreau in the fourth; Renfrow in the fifth; and Prairie View A&M edge rusher Quinton Bell in the seventh round.SURPRISE MOVEThe biggest surprise came in round one when the Raiders took Ferrell fourth overall ahead of a more heralded pass rusher like Kentucky’s Josh Allen or Houston’s Ed Oliver. Mayock said the Raiders had Ferrell rated right behind Ohio State’s Nick Bosa at edge rusher and were happy to take him fourth when no opportunities to trade down materialized.HOW THEY DIDThe biggest needs for the Raiders heading into the draft were finding edge rushers to upgrade a defense that had an NFL-low 13 sacks last season, a featured running back to replace Marshawn Lynch, and more help in the secondary.Those needs were all targeted on the first two days of the draft and now the team must wait to see if the players chosen can deliver on their potential.WHAT’S NEXT?The Raiders have targeted most of their needs this offseason but still could be looking for more help on the interior of the offensive line after trading guard Kelechi Osemele to the Jets last month.Edge rusher remains a big need, even after the additions of Ferrell and the two third-day picks. Oakland did little to address the position in free agency, with Benson Mayowa the most prominent addition, and could try to find a veteran on the market before training camp.