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The Oakland Raiders are in a dead heat with the Jacksonville Jaguars for least enticing fantasy value on both offense and defense. Matt Flynn has two career starts and several years on the bench to his name. Left tackle Jared Veldheer, perhaps the offense’s only elite player, will now miss months thanks to triceps surgery. General manager Reggie McKenzie has chopped up the roster and brought on cheap deals to put the franchise in a manageable salary-cap situation down the road.
As for 2013, it should be quite rough — but that doesn’t mean they won’t yield some fantasy value and important questions to answer.
(The following analysis is based on FantasyPros.com aggregate average draft position drawn from major websites. The first number in parenthesis is ADP overall in a non-PPR format; the second is ADP by position. I am not saying these players will be terrible or amazing, just that I see them significantly outperforming or underperforming their fantasy value at the current ADP.)
Underrated: Raiders Team Defense (335, 31), Matt Flynn (267, 29)
I actually like what Oakland has done with this defense this offseason. I believe Charles Woodson still has something left in the tank and Nick Roach should be an upgrade at middle linebacker. I’m not rostering Oakland unless the league is deep, but their not the second-worst unit in my opinion. I’m not worried about Flynn losing his job with Terrelle Pryor and Tyler Wilson behind him, so 29th just seems a little low based on their depth-chart situation.
Overrated: Darren McFadden (36, 19), Denarius Moore (108, 42)
Many point to Run-DMC running in a zone-blocking scheme for his shortfalls in 2012 and I buy that to some degree. I also stay away in every draft due to him missing significant time injured, almost every year. Moore looks amazing here and there, but that flash has bitten me too many times with inconsistency.
Thomas Emerick is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @ThomasEmerick, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google
