2022 Pre-Draft Fantasy Football Outlook: Las Vegas Raiders

The Las Vegas Raiders were able to make it into the playoffs this past season and showed that they have what it takes to win. Now they have an elite wide receiver to help them succeed even more in 2022. The AFC West is one of the toughest divisions in the NFL right now. All 4 teams have great quarterbacks and solid rosters on both sides of the ball. That being said I truly believe that the Raiders have as good of a shot as the other 3 teams to get into the playoffs this season. The following is the pre-draft fantasy football outlook for the Las Vegas Raiders:

Quarterback

    Derek Carr isn’t a Ferrari but that doesn’t mean he is a ford pinto either. Simply put, Carr is a Toyota Highlander. He’s talented, tough, and most importantly reliable. Carr has never been in the top tier of quarterbacks fantasy-wise but that doesn’t mean that he can’t be a solid fantasy asset. Carr now has a plethora of offensive weapons, which should give him a solid floor and a decent ceiling in fantasy football. What I love about Carr most is that he will be a total value this upcoming draft season. He is currently the 15th ranked QB which means that he is most likely going undrafted in 10-12 person single quarterback leagues. If you had your eyes on Deshaun Watson and wanted to hedge your bets, adding Carr in the last round would be a great idea. Carr is my QB12 heading into the 2022 season.

Running Back

  Josh Jacobs may very well be one of my favorite running backs heading into 2022. Jacobs is set up to succeed in what should be a much better offense than he has seen in recent years. The Raiders should have a much better opportunity to score in 2022, which means that there will be a good amount of red zone opportunities for Jacobs. Jacobs is currently the RB20 which means that you should be able to get him in the late 3rd to early 4th round. If you were to go WR heavy or take a top-tier TE, you would still be able to get Jacobs as your RB1/ RB2. That would be a great foundation for your fantasy team. That being said I believe Jacobs should be closer to a high-end RB2 versus a low-end RB2 in 2022. 

Wide Receivers

    The wide receiver position is the strongest position on the entire Raiders offense. We were surprised by Hunter Renfrow’s production last year, as he was a solid WR2, especially in PPR formats. This year the Raiders added arguably one of the best if not the best wide receivers in the league in Davante Adams. Although Adams fell a couple of spots in my rankings, he is still a strong WR1 that has the ability to be the best wide receiver at the position if everything works out as it should. Adams is currently my WR4 going into next season. Renfrow on the other hand will be the 2nd/3rd option on the Raiders. He is no longer the low-end WR2 that we saw last year but he still has plenty of value going forward. Renfrow should be a solid high-end flex play with upside in 2022.

Tight End

    Darren Waller had a tough season in 2021 mainly due to injury/ illness. 2022 looks like it should be much better for Waller and the Raiders offense. Waller is no longer the #1 target on the team with Davante Adams coming to town, that doesn’t mean that he’s no longer relevant in fantasy though. Now that he is the #2 option, he is more likely to have success since opposing defenses will be more concerned about covering Adams. Waller is still one of the top TE options heading into the 2022 season. He should receive enough targets and chances to score touchdowns for him to be a high-end TE1 in 2022. Waller is currently my TE5. 

Defense/Kicker

    Simply put the Raiders defense should not be one of the top 10-12 defenses drafted in 2022. They are not at the level where you should even consider streaming them unless the matchup is really good. The Raiders are currently my 25th-ranked defense.

    Unlike their defense, the Raiders kicker is in my top 5 for kickers in 2022. Daniel Carlson was a great starting option last year and his opportunities to score should increase this upcoming season. Carlson should be one of the top 4 to 5 kickers taken in the last round of your fantasy drafts in 2022.