The Raiders start the Las Vegas era in their franchise history about as far away from their new home as one could imagine. The Carolina Panthers host the Raiders at 1 p.m. on Sunday on CBS.
When searching for a reliable daily fantasy football option here, finding a loophole or two can pay off. But not overthinking things can work just as well and as long as the Raiders do that on the field, you’ll be happy you did the same in fantasy.
Heading from out west to the East Coast, handing the ball to running back Josh Jacobs is the easiest and smartest play for the silver and black against the Panthers. Carolina turned the page on head coach Ron Rivera and Cam Newton this offseason, turning the keys over to Matt Rhule and Teddy Bridgewater, respectively.
Tough to imagine those two making much of an impact on the defensive front for Carolina, though. Jacobs isn’t the most cost-efficient running back you’ll find this week on DraftKings as his salary is $6,800 (roster limit: $50,000). But signs point to that being a smart investment.
Jacobs had a stellar 1,000-yard rookie season and is now healthy. He’s facing a Panthers defense that was the NFL’s worst run defense last year, which also allowed the league’s most points to running backs in fantasy (510.4). The Panthers did make efforts to improve their D-line, but primarily with a pair of rookies in Derrick Brown and Yetur Gross-Matos. They’ll need to adjust to the pro game and Jacobs should exploit that.
