XANDAMERE’S SHOWDOWN SLANT
Week 5 closes out with the Packers visiting the Raiders for a 45.5 total game with the Raiders favored by 2. We have some key injury news here as both Aaron Jones and Davante Adams are questionable. I think Jones is a near lock to play (he played through the same Q tag last week), while Davante only got in a single limited practice this week. As a long-time vet, he doesn’t necessarily need a lot of practice, and I’d bet it’s more likely he plays than misses, but I would say there is a legitimate chance he’s out. I’m writing this as if he’s in, and if we get news in time, as always, I’ll update the article (if we don’t get news until inactives come out, make sure you’re in our Discord!). I’m a bit surprised to see the Raiders favored here as they have played abysmally to a 1-3 record with a -39 point differential (eek), while the Packers are 2-2 with a positive four point differential. The Raiders have had a slightly tougher schedule but everything here, to me, points to the Packers being a better team. We’ll see, though.
Las Vegas
The Raiders backfield belongs to Josh Jacobs. He has at least 17 carries in each game that didn’t have Las Vegas getting blown out, and his passing game role has also been significant this season with 3, 6, 5, and 11 (!) targets. He’s averaging a pathetic 2.7 yards per carry, but the role is huge and he gets valuable passing game and goal line work. If you believe the Vegas line and think the Raiders win (or at least keep it competitive throughout), he’s a very strong play. Behind Jacobs we’ll see smidges of Ameer Abdullah and Zamir White, leaving both as thin punt options. Abdullah gets a bit of passing game work while White is the real backup if you want to place bets on Jacobs getting hurt.
Showdown Ownership Projections!
Ownership updates automatically
The passing game is Davante Adams, Jakobi Meyers, and whoever. Seriously. The Raiders have the most condensed volume in the NFL, with Jacobs, Adams, and Meyers combining for something ridiculous like 90% of the opportunities (this number is prior to Week 4, I’m sure it shifted a bit with last week’s game but this is still an offense with concentration that we just don’t see in the real live NFL, only in Madden). With Jimmy Garoppolo back, we can expect more competent quarterback play and likely the same kind of concentration. Both Adams and Meyers are very solid bets for double digit targets and the Packers might be missing their top cornerback as Jaire Alexander is questionable. I don’t think matchup really matters THAT much for a guy like Davante, but it would be yet another mark in his favor. For much of last season it would have been highly profitable to have a rule of at least 1 of Davante and Jacobs on every roster, and this year we can add Meyers to that mix (I think that rule is very much in play in this Showdown). Both are excellent options, as they will be in any Raiders game. Davante is, obviously, awesome, but as the most expensive play in this Showdown, we shouldn’t forget about Meyers down there in that weird salary zone that tends to leave guys underowned. Personally, I want to have about equal exposure to both, which will probably leave me roughly equal weight with the field on Davante but well above the field on Meyers. Everyone else on this offense – Hunter Renfrow, Tre Tucker, DeAndre Carter, and tight ends Austin Hooper and Michael Mayer, are just dart throws.
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