Las Vegas Raiders DVOA, Stats, & NFL Rankings

Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Jakobi Meyers looked healthy against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 8, his first game back from a two-week absence due to an ankle injury. He was targeted seven times by his quarterback, Gardner Minshew II, and hauled in six of those passes for 52 yards and the game's only non-garbage-time touchdown. He played reasonably well in the WR1 role left vacant by the departure of Davante Adams. He's the clear lead receiver for the team moving forward, though he faces substantial target competition from tight end Brock Bowers. He's a solid WR3/FLEX option with WR2 upside, depending on how the offense fares overall, ahead of a Week 9 matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers had a quieter day than usual in his team's loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 8 after he caught all five of his targets for 58 yards. He caught two of those passes, totaling 19 yards, during the garbage-time drive the Raiders put forth near the end of the game. It was a relatively pedestrian day for the breakout superstar. The Chiefs appeared to make it a priority to slow him down, and rightly so, as he's their best offensive weapon. He'll still be a must-start top-5 TE in all fantasy leagues heading into a softer Week 9 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals and their struggling defensive unit.

Las Vegas Raiders running back Alexander Mattison seemed to have wrested control of the lead running back role for his team in their Week 8 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. He was highly inefficient with his touches, though. He carried the ball 14 times for 15 yards (a paltry 1.1 yards per carry), and caught five passes on five targets for 29 yards. Most notably, he rushed for two yards, no gain, and negative-two yards after Las Vegas took possession due to an interception by opposing QB Patrick Mahomes II. The goal-line stand took away Mattison's best chance at scoring a touchdown. The majority of his fantasy value appears to be tied to PPR points from high target volume, but he'll have an easier matchup in Week 9 against the Cincinnati Bengals and profiles as a FLEX option in deeper leagues.

Las Vegas Raiders running back Zamir White wasn't a significant part of the game plan in the Raiders' loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 8. He carried the ball just two times for negative-one yard and was not targeted. Las Vegas' coaching staff is likely responding to his ineffectiveness this season by severely restricting his total touches in an effort to help the offense. He now averages just three yards per carry on the season, and it looks like he slid from a bench stash in extremely deep leagues to not worth rostering. While game script could have had something to do with his lack of involvement, he should not be started in any leagues going into his Week 9 matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals. It looks like the starting job now belongs to Alexander Mattison.

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew II completed 24 of 30 passes for 209 yards and a touchdown in the Raiders' 20-27 loss to the rival Kansas City Chiefs in Week 8. He also lost one fumble on a sack. In typical Raiders fashion, they drove down the field and scored on their first drive of the game before their offense stalled. They couldn't get much of anything else going until a garbage-time drive for another touchdown near the end of the game. Minshew looked better than he did in Week 7, when he turned the ball over four times, but he didn't give Las Vegas a spark and padded his stats in the fourth quarter. He'll start again in Week 9 when the Raiders take on the Cincinnati Bengals, and he'll still profile as a starting option in fantasy football only for 2QB leagues.