The Las Vegas Raiders take on the Indianapolis Colts in Week 17 of the 2023 NFL regular season with their playoff lives on the line. Incredibly, after beating the Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs in back-to-back weeks, the Raiders suddenly look like a legitimate playoff team, and a lot of that is thanks to the strong play of their defense.
Week 17 of the NFL season not only has huge playoff implications for the teams actually on the field, but in most fantasy football leagues, this is the week to win it all. With teams likely sitting players out in Week 18 when they have clinched a playoff spot, fantasy football leagues are usually set up with Week 17 as the championship week, so today is a huge one.
Here, we look at the fantasy football outlook for the Las Vegas Raiders.
Start: Raiders D/ST, Zamir White, and Davante Adams
As we said earlier, the Raiders defense is legit right now, led by arguably the best defensive player in the NFL in Maxx Crosby. However, for the first time in a long time, Crosby is not the only playmaker on this Raiders defense, who has scored four touchdowns in the last two games.
Jack Jones has dominated from his cornerback position, and the team is finally getting some push at defensive tackle. Even with Michael Pittman Jr. returning for the Colts in this one, do not be afraid to deploy the Raiders defense in Week 17.
On the offensive side of the ball, Davante Adams is a must-start, especially coming off a sub-par game for the Raiders passing attack on Christmas Day. With Josh Jacobs out, you can expect another large load of carries for Zamir White, who looked every bit the part of an RB1 against Kansas City.
Sit: Aidan O'Connell and Raiders WRs outside of Adams
After a stunning first quarter on Christmas Day, Aidan O'Connell did not complete a pass in the final three quarters, but he did do a good job of protecting the football. Still, he should not be started in fantasy football this week, especially with championships on the line.
We could see a very vanilla passing attack from the Raiders in this one, with Adams likely getting most of the targets. If that happens, Hunter Renfrow, Jakobi Meyers, and the Raiders tight ends will likely play the role of decoys on Sunday against Indianapolis.