Posted by Michael Loede on August 28th, 2010 in
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Like the song says, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year..” Thats right.. FOOTBALL season is approaching faster than you can say “I’m takin my talent to South Beach..” And with that impending orgasm of the first kick off of the regular season comes a real mans (or woman’s – lets not be sexist here, gentlemen, there ARE chicks that play Fantasy – including mine, and she is quite GOOD!! ) ) biggest day of the year – your Fantasy Football Draft .. You have scoured the Internet, bought dozens of magazines and studied every player from the unknown rookies to the 137 year old Brett Farve.. ”whats my strategy?” “who do I take with my first pick?” “who the hell ate all the 7-layer dip?” “who invited THAT a-hole?” and the question I am asking – “Is there any RAIDERS worth taking for my Fantasy Team this year??” Well, before you start laughing and spit out your Natty Lite, lets take a look at some key Raiders and see if they are worthy of a roster spot on your team..
Let’s start with the newest Raider QB Jason Campbell.. Acquired from Washington this off-season, Campbell will step into the role of Raider QB and should make an impact.. While not our saviour to march us off to the Super Bowl, Jason is quite an upgrade to what we have had to suffer through during the “Russell” years.. He has a strong arm, and is capable of leading a team.. I am not expecting huge numbers from him this year, but Campbell is more than worthy as a 2nd string QB this year.. You can pretty much avoid any other Raider QB at this point, but as we know, things change and later in the season we may be looking at Bruce Gradkowski or Kyle Boller if Campbell gets injured.. At the running back spot, Justin Fargus was shipped off to KC and the backfield has become less muddled.. All signs point to Oakland moving more to a RBBC with Michael Bush and Darren McFadden becoming the main ball carriers for a surprisingly decent running game.. A number of publications and Fantasy pundits are predicting a solid year from Michael Bush and many are looking at him as a “sleeper” pick.. McFadden will need to post strong numbers this year to avoid being labeled a “bust” as he has not played to expectations or lived up to his hype.. I see Bush going in the 4th or 5th rounds as a 2nd or 3rd string RB and he just may well surprise in this role.. McFadden I am looking more as a risky pick – moderate to high risk, but the payoff could be surprising.. I wouldn’t be looking at McFadden any earlier the the 6th or even 7th round..
Oakland WR’s are all pretty much middle of the road picks.. There is not a #1 per se, but there are a couple of Oakland WR’s that may be worth a late round
.. NOTE – Chaz Schilens just recently had his knee scoped an is likely to miss some time.. Late rounds only !! The other Oakland WR’s that may fill a late round need are Louis Murphy, Darrius Heyward-Bey, and Johnny Lee-Higgins.. Any of them may be a surprise this year and the payoff could be worth it.. Over at TE is Zach Miller, who is definitely a top 10 Tight End.. Look for Miller to have a solid year with Campbell hooking up often with Oakland’s only bright spot on offense in recent years.. He is by far the most solid pick of any Raider on your Fantasy team this year.. As far as Sebastian Janikowski, forget it.. He is barely even worth a fill-in spot as he has lost his game a while back.. He may show flashes of his former strength, but unless your looking to hook up with some date rape drug GHB, I would suggest avoiding “SeaBass” as there are a number of stronger more reliable kickers to choose from this year.. The Oakland Defense could be considered for a spot on you roster as 2nd string or as a fill-in.. The defense actually isn’t all that bad, and couple surprise some Fantasy players this year..
There ya have it.. So to answer the question – Are there any Raiders worthy of a spot on my Fantasy team this year?? – yes, yes there are, but pick them with caution and know that they may just perform below expectations… Have fun and good luck to all you Fantasy Freaks out there.. I need to get ready for my draft in 4 hours….. ML