The 3 options
Darren Waller, TE
Darren Waller has been the obvious No. 1 option in the passing game for the Raiders over the past few weeks. He’s a matchup nightmare for defenses, and with one of the best coverage and tackling linebackers in the NFL out in Leonard, the Cover 2 defense of the Colts will likely struggle against a tight end like Waller this week. For Derek Carr, he’s proven to be a solid target.
Tyrell Williams
Tyrell Williams has been getting the No. 1 coverage corner on the opposing team the past three weeks and his stats show it. While some of it has been Carr’s play, the other has been Williams inability to get open. However, this week, Hooker is out for the Colts.
Hooker reminds me of Ed Reed. Being a Colts and Raiders fan, I studied Hooker when he was drafted and he has good range, speed, and can cover the field quickly. He also has great hands being he was a receiver in high school, too.
Hooker being out will be a blow to the Colts defense and will be one less weapon the Colts have and one more advantage the Raiders have.
Josh Jacobs
Josh Jacobs will be a low RB1 this week against the banged up Colts defense. Last week, he only had 12 touches, which was mainly due to the game getting out of hand at half time.
However, the Colts defense is bad, if not terrible, on third down and in the red zone. They’re also very aggressive and will bite on the screen plays. Ben Bangu is a rookie linebacker, but he’s worth keeping an eye on.
He’s extremely fast and can rush the quarterback. The key will be getting up early on the Colts and forcing them to play from behind.
There are the three guys I’d be comfortable playing this week. I still need to see more from Carr to be okay with playing him in a starting role. In a 8-12 team league, you should have a better option, but in a 16-20 team league, you may just have to roll with him.
In a PPR league feel free to play Jalen Richard if you’re desperate or J.J Nelson, too. If you’re in a desperation play in Week 4 then you’re team is probably bad as it is. However, squint and eye and play Richard in a PPR and Derek Carr if you have to.