It's not often the New York Jets come into a game with a more stable team situation than their opponent, but such is the deal Sunday when the Oakland Raiders visit with their curious quarterback situation, which saw rookie Derek Carr earn the gig over his more experienced competition. These two are perhaps the NFL's most unstable teams, in fact, as both brought in new quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers in the offseason.
Fantasy football start/sit advice, Week 1: Raiders vs. Jets
Two teams regularly in turmoil -- lots of roster turnover from last year -- face off in the season opener Sunday.
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Neither team is chock-full of fantasy options, but there are a few names to keep an eye on:
Raiders
Start in every league: ...
Start if you're desperate: Maurice Jones-Drew, Darren McFadden
Bench: Derek Carr, James Jones, Rod Streater, Denarius Moore, Andre Holmes, Mychal Rivera, Sebastian Janikowski, Defense/special teams
New Raider Jones-Drew is slated to be the team’s starter, though McFadden will still likely be relevant enough to render both guys moot in most leagues. If you are starting one or the other, go with Jones-Drew, but neither is exciting.
Sure, it's interesting that the team went with Carr, but when all you're beating out is Matt Schaub, is it really that special? ... Carr getting the job probably helps the pass-catching crew of Jones, Streater, Moore, Holmes and Rivera, but not nearly enough. ... I just want Janikowski to kick forever, but he's not really a good fantasy option anymore. ... The Raiders' defense, lol.
Jets
Start in every league: Chris Johnson, Eric Decker, Nick Folk, Defense/special teams
Start if you're desperate: Geno Smith
Bench: Chris Ivory, Jace Amaro
The Jets spent big bucks on Johnson and Decker -- the two immediately become the team’s best offensive weapons, and are low-end starters in just about any league. ... Folk always seems to get his points. ... The Jets’ defense runs into a buzz saw schedule after Week 1, but the unit gets an untested rookie on a poor offense to start with, and that’s nice.
Everyone has been saying it, and I will, too: Smith is interesting in a lot of ways. He beat out Michael Vick in camp and had several big games a year ago -- mixing in some disasters as well. You almost certainly aren't using him, but he is interesting, at least.
If Johnson struggles or gets hurt, Ivory could be interesting again, but without that, he’s unlikely to get enough touches. ... Amaro might be a fantasy guy later in the season, but we’ll need to see his performance first.
