The Raiders drafted TE Brock Bowers 13th overall, which says plenty about how much they like his talent. But that doesn't guarantee he'll get enough playing time to produce right away. According to The Athletic's Tashan Reed, new OC Luke Getsy's "run-first offense asks a lot out of tight ends in the run game, so Bowers will have to make strides in that area to stay on the field."
The Raiders expect WR Tre Tucker to "take a big leap as their starting slot," per The Athletic's Tashan Reed. A third-round pick in 2023, Tucker managed just 19 catches, 331 yards, and 2 TDs as a rookie. At 5'9 and 185 pounds, Tucker brings exciting speed (4.40 forty time; 1.48 ten-yard split). This offseason, the Raiders added Brock Bowers to an offense that already includes Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers. Bowers is expected to see a good chunk of his snaps out of the slot.
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler believes Aidan O'Connell "probably has the slight edge right now" in the Raiders' QB competition against Gardner Minshew. Fowler calls it "a real battle."
The Raiders selected New Hampshire RB Dylan Laube in Round 6 of the NFL Draft. Including a 2018 redshirt, Laube spent six seasons at New Hampshire. He'll turn 25 in December, making him one of the oldest prospects in the class. Not ideal – but the production speaks for itself. Playing against FCS competition, Laube led the nation in all-purpose yards per game in 2022 (194.3). Included in there: Three games north of 200 rushing/receiving yards, including a video game-like 12-295-2 receiving line against Central Michigan. Overall, he excelled as a receiver with 49 catches – good for second on the team. Per The Athletic’s Dane Brugler, Laube passed on transfer opportunities (and NIL deals) ahead of last fall. Still, his workload dropped (16 carries per game vs. 20.4), and he declined in yards per carry, yards after contact per attempt, and forced missed-tackle rate. Known as a high character kid, Laube ultimately wins with quick feet and a versatile skill set. He’s racked up a nation-leading 117 catches over the past two seasons. Going in the late sixth round is a bad sign, but Laube at least landed in a Raiders backfield with only Zamir White, Alexander Mattison, and Ameer Abdullah. We’ll see if he can push Abdullah for a passing-down role. Laube isn’t worth a pick in early best-ball drafts but is a viable flier in deeper dynasty leagues.
The Raiders added Georgia TE Brock Bowers in Round 1 of the NFL Draft. Bowers arrives after an uber-productive college career. He led Georgia in catches, receiving yards, and receiving TDs across all three seasons on campus. Bowers tallied a 56-882-13 line as a true freshman, ranking third among 45 qualifying TEs in both Pro Football Focus receiving grade and yards per route. He improved his yards per game each of the next two seasons (62.8 and 71.4) and led all 52 qualifying TEs in yards per route last year. Bowers won the Mackey Award as the nation’s top TE in both 2022 and 2023, becoming the first two-time winner of the award. He was deployed all over the formation at Georgia (53% slot, 37% inline, 10% out wide) and even carried 19 times over the last three years. That speaks to his skills with the ball in his hands: Bowers averaged a big 8.5 yards after catch per reception for his college career. He also boasts impressive ball skills and reliable hands, dropping just 4.4% of his career targets. Bower is a bit undersized at 6’3, 243 pounds and didn’t test in the pre-draft process. But it’s tough to worry about any of that after he dominated for three seasons in the SEC. In Vegas, he joins a squad that spent a 2023 Round 2 pick on TE Michael Mayer. The Raiders lack a QB of the future but offer a nice spot for Bowers to soak up targets long-term. He remains a fringe top-5 pick in rookie drafts.
Raiders HC Antonio Pierce called newly signed RB Alexander Mattison and TE Harrison Bryant depth pieces. "We’re talking about guys that could come in and, at some point — don’t know when it’s gonna happen — but, give us that starter, that little jolt or juice that we can use," Pierce added. Bryant was never a legitimate threat to 2023 second-rounder Michael Mayer. The bigger takeaway here is that the Raiders evidently don't view Mattison as a competitor for the starting RB job. Mattison's play could change throughout the offseason, of course. And Vegas could still add a RB in the draft. But Zamir White's odds of opening the season as the starter continue to climb. He remains a solid value in early best-ball drafts. For more on White, check out 2024 Fantasy Football Breakouts.
The Raiders signed TE Harrison Bryant to a one-year, $3.25 million deal with a max value of $4 million, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Bryant spent the past four seasons in Cleveland backing up TE Austin Hooper and then TE David Njoku. He'll play a similar secondary role in Las Vegas behind TE Michael Mayer. Bryant is off the redraft radar and is not a must-hold in dynasty.
The Raiders are signing QB Gardner Minshew to a 2-year, $25 million deal with $15 million guaranteed, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. That contract doesn't guarantee that Minshew will be the team's 2024 starter, but it at least makes him the favorite. With QB Jimmy Garoppolo set to be released, QB Aidan O'Connell currently stands as Minshew's competition. We'll see if the Raiders add anything else significant this offseason. They currently hold the 13th overall pick of April's draft. Minshew is good enough to keep an NFL offense on track but will not be an exciting fantasy option in Vegas. He averaged 229 passing yards and 1.1 TDs in 13 full games for the Colts last season. The Minshew addition does bring some stability to the fantasy outlooks of Davante Adams, Jakobi Meyers, and Michael Mayer.
Georgia TE Brock Bowers measured in at 6’3, 243 pounds at the NFL Combine. That was pretty much the expectation for Bowers, who declined to participate in athletic testing. He delivered massive numbers across three college seasons (175-2,541-26). His tape is littered with dynamic run-after-catch ability and physical play. He stood out on screens at Georgia, where his versatility showed in various alignments. The potential top-10 pick will push for fantasy value early in 2024. Visit our dynasty TE rankings, and you’ll see him checking in as a mid-range TE1.
The Vikings are releasing RB Alexander Mattison, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. The move saves the team $3.35 million in 2024 cap space. Mattison opened last season as Minnesota's lead back but eventually lost that job to Ty Chandler. Mattison has failed to reach 4.0 yards per carry in three straight seasons now and is unlikely to find more than a No. 2 RB job on the open market. The Vikings, meanwhile, are a virtual lock to add to the backfield this offseason. The level of addition will tell us how strongly they feel about Chandler, who played well down the stretch last year. He's currently RB38 in Underdog ADP but figures to get pricier now. Chandler sits 31st among RBs in our best-ball rankings.
Raiders HC Antonio Pierce said from the Combine that the team's starting QB job is Aidan O'Connell's to lose, per Levi Edwards of the team's official website. With QB Jimmy Garoppolo expected to be released within the next couple of weeks and Brian Hoyer the only other QB on the roster, we wouldn't expect Pierce to say anything different. O'Connell was just ok as a fourth-round rookie last year, completing 62.1% of his passes at 6.5 yards per attempt with 12 TDs vs. seven INTs. He ranked 23rd among 30 qualifying QBs in Pro Football Focus' passing grades. We fully expect the Raiders to make a relatively significant addition at QB this offseason -- potentially a trade for QB Justin Fields or a drafting a first-round rookie. We're betting against O'Connell leading Vegas in 2024 passing attempts and wouldn't target him in early best-ball drafts.
The Raiders removed the interim label from Antonio Pierce, naming the 45-year-old their new HC. Pierce took over as interim HC of a 3-5 Raiders team this past season and proceeded to go 5-4 the rest of the way. Vegas' points per game rose from 15.8 pre-Pierce to 22.9 after Pierce took over. While Pierce talked a lot about his love of running the rock, the Raiders' neutral run rate actually sunk from 43.1% to 41.4% in Pierce's nine games. He did ride a workhorse RB in all of those games, though -- first Josh Jacobs and then Zamir White. Jacobs is due to hit free agency in March, while White is signed for two more seasons. We'll see what the Raiders do in the backfield, and how Pierce fills out the rest of his coaching staff.
Raiders TE Michael Mayer (toe) is out for Sunday’s finale vs. the Broncos. He wraps up his rookie campaign with a 27-304-2 line across 14 games. It felt underwhelming, especially compared to fellow rookie TEs Sam LaPorta and Dalton Kincaid. But we’ve seen plenty of TEs struggle in year one before going on to have strong careers. Dynasty leaguers should see if they can buy low on Mayer this offseason. Austin Hooper will close out this season as Vegas’ lead TE.
Raiders TE Michael Mayer (toe) is out for Week 17. That leaves Austin Hooper as the lead TE vs. the Colts’ 28th-ranked TE defense. You shouldn’t need to go there in season-long lineups, but Hooper is in play as a cheap DFS option.
Raiders TE Michael Mayer (toe) remained sidelined on Wednesday. Fantasy owners shouldn't be counting on the rookie in Week 17 fantasy lineups. Austin Hooper stepped in as Vegas' lead TE last week, catching two of three targets for 13 yards.
Raiders RB Zamir White racked up 145 yards on 22 carries in Monday's win over the Chiefs. He had just seven rushes for 33 yards at halftime but loaded up in the fourth quarter, as Vegas ran out the clock. White tallied 64 of his yards on just his final three runs to get to the 2-minute warning. That followed his solid 17-69-1 effort (plus 3 receptions for 16 yards) in the Week 15 beatdown of the Chargers. But RB Josh Jacobs seems likely to be ready for Week 17. He was officially questionable for the K.C. game, though it didn't sound like he actually got close to playing. Jacobs managed just one limited practice for Week 16, sandwiched between two missed days. White belongs on a fantasy roster heading into Week 17, but don't expect him to be usable unless Jacobs remains out. White's past two weeks have made his dynasty outlook much more interesting, after he had basically done nothing through nearly his first two seasons. Consider White more of a "hold" than a "buy," though. He's no lock to take over the backfield even if Jacobs leaves in free agency.
Vikings RB Alexander Mattison (ankle) is active for today’s game vs. the Lions. He only got in a limited practice on Friday and is expected to play well behind RB Ty Chandler today. Mattison isn’t a viable fantasy starter. Chandler remains a solid RB2 in the Week 16 Rankings.
Vikings RB Alexander Mattison (ankle) is expected to play vs. the Lions today, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. Mattison got in just a limited practice on Friday and won't be at 100% today, Pelissero confirms. "Expect Minnesota to keep riding Ty Chandler," Pelissero adds. Mattison isn't a viable Week 16 fantasy play. His return puts just a slight dent in Chandler's Week 16 outlook.
Raiders TE Michael Mayer (toe) is out for Monday's game vs. the Chiefs. The rookie didn't practice all week. His absence leaves Austin Hooper as Vegas' top TE. Hopefully you don't need to go there in fantasy lineups.
Vikings RB Alexander Mattison (ankle) is listed as questionable for this weekend’s game vs. the Lions. He only got in a limited practice on Friday. Mattison won’t be a viable fantasy play if he ends up active on Sunday, but his return would put a slight dent in RB Ty Chandler’s projection.
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