Raiders Fantasy Football Preview: Gardner Minshew, Zamir White, Davante Adams, Jakobi Meyers, Brock Bowers and More

Let’s dive into another NFL team fantasy football preview.

Check back soon for more team previews. Of course, things will change between now and the start of the season, and FantasySP will cover any major changes when those happen.

Here’s all the team previews we’ve already covered. 

AFC: Kansas City Chiefs, New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers, Tennessee Titans, Baltimore Ravens, New England Patriots, Miami Dolphins

NFC: San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Rams, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers

Let’s talk about the Las Vegas Raiders next.

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Quarterback Fantasy Outlooks

The Raiders have a quarterback competition going on right now, with Gardner Minshew and Aidan O'Connell battling for the top spot.

Minshew played in 17 games ago for the Colts. He had 13 starts, with the team going 7-6 in those contests.

Minshew completed 305 of his 490 passes for 3,305 yards, 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He added 100 rushing yards and three scores on 34 attempts.

O’Connell played in 11 games last season, making 10 starts for Las Vegas. The team went 5-5 in those games.

O’Connell completed 213 of his 343 passing attempts for 2,218 yards and 12 touchdowns and seven picks. He only had 11 rushing yards on 17 attempts - he scored once.

I think most people believe Minshew will be the starter, at least to start the season. Regardless of who the starter is though, neither should be drafted in standard leagues. Minshew is QB33, while O’Connell is QB36 right now, with both guys going after pick 225.

Whoever the starter is should be a streaming option in standard leagues to begin the season. They are obviously more valuable in deeper leagues, or two-QB formats. They’ll have some memorable games this season, but won’t be every-week starting options probably.

Running Back Fantasy Outlooks

Josh Jacobs is gone, so Zamir White will now lead the Raiders’ backfield. Alexander Mattison, Ameer Abdullah and rookie Dylan Laube are backup options.

White played in 17 games last season, having a few big games when Jacobs was out. He went for 451 rushing yards and a score on 104 attempts. White had 98 receiving yards and no scores on 15 receptions and 19 targets.

Abduallah was with Las Vegas last season, playing in all 17 games. He got 34 touches and turned those into 220 yards, but no scores.

Mattison has been with the Vikings for all five of his NFL seasons. In 16 games and 13 starts last season, Mattison had 700 rushing yards but no scores on 180 attempts. He caught 30 of his 44 targets for 192 yards and three touchdowns.

Laube was a sixth-round draft pick in the 2024 draft. He had over 1,000 total yards in each of his final two seasons at New Hampshire, while combining for 33 total touchdowns.

White is the RB to own on the Raiders, but with just a little NFL success, he’s not a major draft piece. He’s RB24 and going around pick 71 right now. 

I believe he’ll be the team’s No. 1 back this season, and although that’s not an early pick, I’m not comfortable taking White at his ADP. There’s several backs going after him that I would rather have, so I’d skip on White (at least for a round, maybe more) unless his ADP falls.

None of the other Vegas RBs are worth taking in standard leagues, but taking a flier on Mattison isn’t the worst idea in a deeper league. Laube should garner some interest in deeper leagues and dynasties.

I’m not a fan of the Las Vegas running backs this season. White should start if he’s healthy, but I don’t think he’s anything more than a flex option. He could definitely start in deeper leagues though. All the other backs could either be avoided in drafts or are deep bench guys. One might become streamable, but I don’t think it’ll be anything sustainable.

Wide Receiver Fantasy Outlooks

Davante Adams is back to lead the team’s wide receivers. Jakobi Meyers and Tre Tucker are expected to start alongside him. Kristian Wilkerson, Jalen Guyton and DJ Turner are the top depth options at this point.

Adams had a down season in 2023. He played in all 17 games, hauling in 103 of his 175 targets for 1,144 yards and eight scores. Adams had over 1,500 yards and 25 total touchdowns in the previous two years combined, so fantasy owners are hoping for another year of that.

Meyers appeared in 16 games overall. He had 71 catches on 106 targets for 807 yards and eight touchdowns. Meyers has had over 700 receiving yards, but no more than 866 in each of the past four years.

Tucker played in 16 games with the Raiders in his rookie season. He had 19 receptions for 331 yards and two scores on 34 total targets. Tucker added 77 yards on 10 rushing attempts.

Turner is entering his third NFL season. He had 26 total yards on four touches as a rookie, but didn’t have a touch in 10 games last season.

Wilkerson appeared in two games for the Raiders last season. He didn’t have a catch. Wilkerson had two touchdowns with the Patriots in 2021.

Guyton was with the Chargers for his first five NFL seasons. He had 959 yards and six scores between 2020-21, but has just 153 yards and a score across the past two years.

The Raiders’ WR room is really lacking, meaning Adams and Meyers should be heavily involved offensively.

Adams is WR10 and going around pick 18. The better QB situation should help him out. He might not be the elite threat he once was, but I think he’ll do enough to warrant a pick late in the second round.

Meyers is WR52 and going around pick 129. Seeing Meyers consistency over the past several seasons makes him a pretty solid value pick that late in a standard draft. I like taking him as a backup fantasy wideout, and he has upside to start a few weeks.

Every other Vegas receiver is a deep league option only to begin the season. I like Tucker and think he could be startable from time to time in deeper leagues, so I wouldn’t mind using a later pick on him. Everyone else can be treated as waiver wire options.

Tight End Fantasy Outlooks

The Raiders might only need Adams, Meyers and Tucker to deliver amongst the wide receivers because they have Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer at tight end.

Mayer played in 14 games as a rookie last season. He made 27 grabs on 40 targets for 304 yards and two touchdowns.

After Mayer was a second-round pick, it was surprising to see Las Vegas use the 10th overall pick in the 2024 draft on Bowers. He starred at Georgia for three seasons, scoring 31 total touchdowns.

Bowers should be the starter, but Mayer will probably get enough snaps to be a fantasy asset too.

Bowers is TE11 and going around pick 90 right now. Mayer is TE35 and going around pick 250.

It's hard to trust rookies as top fantasy starters, but Bowers is right on the edge of that right now at his ADP. There’s risk involved, so I’d make sure to also draft another TE, but being around pick 100, the risk isn’t that high, so I’m OK taking Bowers here.

Mayer is a deep league draft option right now. He could become startable as a streaming option in standard leagues, even with Bowers healthy, but that would probably mean the team’s running game is nonexistent and the starting QB is one of the top passers in the league. I won’t give up hope on Mayer yet, but his long-term outlook definitely took a hit over the offseason.