The Week 2 matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and the Oakland Raiders features two teams coming off of disappointing losses. We’ve got the fantasy projections courtesy of numberFire.
Fantasy football projections, Week 2: Ravens-Raiders featuring Justin Forsett, Kamar Aiken and Amari Cooper
We break down the Week 2 matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and the Oakland Raiders.
Baltimore Ravens
Running back Justin Forsett didn’t exactly kill it against the Denver Broncos last week, recording a total of 56 yards on 18 touches in the game. The Ravens struggled moving the ball in general. He’ll need to be better against the Raiders in Week 2. That shouldn’t be a problem considering both of the Cincinnati Bengals’ running backs ran all over Oakland last week. Forsett is an automatic starter in fantasy leagues.
Hopefully he gets some assistance from wide receiver Steve Smith, who only managed to catch two passes against the Broncos for 13 yards. Even at his advanced age and with retirement looming, that’s simply not good enough for a player of Smith’s caliber and experience. He should get a ton of attention in the passing game against the Raiders. Hopefully it was just a slow start for a guy who’s been a premier receiver his entire career.
Oakland Raiders
Amari Cooper put together a decent effort in this NFL debut last week, catching five passes for 47 yards. He’s talented and big and he is the default No. 1 receiver on the Raiders. That explains why he’s owned in nearly 100 percent of fantasy leagues. He will continue to try to prove himself against the Ravens this week, a team that managed to contain quarterback Peyton Manning and company last week. Cooper has a lot of upside and thus should be a starter this week.
With quarterback Derek Carr likely being somewhat limited on Sunday due to a hand injury, running back Latavius Murray will have to step his game up. Murray totaled 80 yards on 18 touches in the team’s home opener. He offers exceptional value in PPR leagues -- eight of his 18 touches last week were receptions out of the backfield. Murray should be a solid bet to put up points against the Ravens even if he doesn’t score in the actual game.
