Geno Smith start or sit: Week 1 fantasy football advice

The Las Vegas Raiders will head to Foxboro to take on the Patriots in Week 1 as 2-point underdogs. They’ll also have a new head coach, offensive coordinator, quarterback and starting running back along for the ride. So, 74 year old Pete Carroll, 61-year old Chip Kelly, 34-year old Geno Smith and 21-year old Ashton Jeanty embark on what they hope is a turnaround season following a paltry 4-13 record.

Their new quarterback, Smith, is no-doubt an upgrade on what the Raiders have been running out there. He should be able to lead the team and limit mistakes, especially if they can get their first-round running back going early in games.

Below, we’ll go over Geno Smith’s outlook in fantasy football for Week 1.

The Patriots run defense was better than their pass defense last season and that looks like it will hold this year as well, even with the addition of Carlton Davis. And if Christian Gonzalez can’t play this week, it hurts their pass defense even more. The thing is, I expect the Raiders to work hard to get Ashton Jeanty going as the engine of their offense.

Smith needs time in the pocket, as his numbers plummet when under pressure. If they can get the run game going, Smith should be able to play efficient, winning football. But they need things to go their way for that to happen.

Sit. At this point, I think Smith and the Raiders offense will need to prove to me they will throw the ball enough to give Smith high enough upside to be a starting quarterback in fantasy. Until then, he looks like a QB2 in middling to good matchups like this one.