The Oakland Raiders ran for 180 yards and three touchdowns as a team, which was good news for any fantasy football owners who started Marshawn Lynch or Jalen Richard.
Below is an outlook for the respective fantasy values of Lynch, Richard and DeAndre Washington following Oakland’s 45-20 victory over the Nw York Jets in Week 2.
Marshawn Lynch
Lynch carried the ball 12 times for 45 yards and a touchdown. The NFL shared a replay of his 2-yard touchdown run in the second quarter:
While having Lynch back in the league is great in general, fantasy owners should remain cautious about what to expect from him going forward.
Even in his prime, he didn’t offer a whole lot as a receiver, and that’s not going to change when he’s 31 years old. He’s also in an offense that isn’t short on playmakers. Michael Crabtree had three receiving touchdowns, and even Cordarrelle Patterson got in on the fun Sunday, scoring on a 43-yard run in the third quarter.
Lynch is worthy of at least flex status, but aiming much higher may be a bit risky unless he shows he’s back to the Beast Mode of old.
Jalen Richard
Richard ran for 58 yards and a touchdown on six carries and caught two passes for 51 yards. His final yardage is somewhat deceiving since 52 of his rushing yards came on a fourth-quarter touchdown, and he had a 39-yard reception to start the second quarter.
As long as Lynch stays healthy, there’s little reason to see Richard as a viable fantasy option. He may break off the occasional big play, but Richard almost certainly won’t receive a high enough volume of touches every week to provide any sort of consistency.
DeAndre Washington
The same goes for Washington, who had 20 rushing yards and caught three passes for 15 yards.
Washington ran for 467 yards and two touchdowns on the ground as a rookie in 2016. He also had 17 receptions for 115 yards. Neither was enough to move the needle from a fantasy perspective.
As long as Lynch and Richard are healthy and in the Raiders backfield, Washington is a non-factor in standard leagues.
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