Let’s get everyone caught up. In Sunday’s loss to the Broncos, Gardner Minshew suffered a season-ending collarbone injury. The question coming out of that game was simple: Who would be starting at QB for the Raiders going forward? Desmond Ridder or Aidan O’Connell? Well, we appear to have our answer.
For the purposes of fantasy football, this is a “devil you know” situation. We’ve seen O’Connell start games for Las Vegas in the past, as recently as Week 7 against the Rams, the day he suffered the thumb ailment that’s since landed him on IR. To me, there really isn’t that much of a difference between Minshew and O’Connell. In 2024, Minshew averaged 4.7 adjusted net yards per pass attempt, while O’Connell is currently sitting a 4.4 yards. There might be a little bit of a drop-off, but it’s not like we’re dealing with Pro Bowl pivots here.
As it pertains specifically to Brock Bowers, this, again, is probably a neutral roster move. The rookie comes into Week 13 ranked as TE1 in PPR formats, despite playing in an offense that’s used three different quarterbacks and is producing just 292.6 yards per contest — the fifth-lowest mark in the NFL. He’s a fantasy flower that’s somehow grown in a dark room with little water. If he’s thrived in his past conditions, he’ll continue to thrive in very similar ones. It’s also worth noting how involved Bowers was in O’Connell’s lone full start. In Week 6 versus the Steelers, Bowers was targeted 10 times, which was twice as often as any other Raider. He finished with nine receptions for 71 yards.
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All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests.
