To put it plainly, the vibes are not high in Las Vegas. The Raiders currently sit at the bottom of the AFC West sporting a 2-3 record and -35 point differential. Star wideout Davante Adams has requested a trade and has missed the last two contests due to a hamstring injury. Head coach Antonio Pierce is going to have to make “business decisions” fairly soon, which means we have decisions of our own to decipher. It’s likely Adams will not suit up in the black and silver in Week 6—due to injury or, well, sporting a whole new jersey—so is Jakobi Meyers ($5,400) a must-start?
**Note: Davante Adams is not expected to play Sunday vs. the Steelers.
Jakobi Meyers: Sit or Start vs. Steelers Week 6?
The Raiders marched into Denver last week defending an eight-game winning streak over the Broncos, but Pat Surtain II’s two-interception day pushed momentum in the home team’s favor. Gardner Minshew ($4,900) completed 12/17 passes for 137 yards and those two picks before getting benched for Aiden O’Connell ($4,900), who had a sloppy game as well. O’Connell only completed 50% of his passes for 92 yards and an interception. Typically, bad quarterback play results in diminished WR fantasy production.
Jakobi Meyers pulled in just six receptions on nine targets for 72 yards. While he ran more routes than the Raiders tight end, Meyers was out targeted by Brock Bowers ($6,000), who put up 23.7 FPTS in comparison to Meyers’ 13.2 FPTS.
Meyers’ lack of yards after the catch brings concern. The North Carolina State product only accumulated nine YAC last week vs. the Broncos, which was -5 YAC over expected. Meyers has yet to hit over 75 yards and has collected 20+ FPTS in just one contest this season (vs. a struggling Panthers defense), and add in the daunting defensive matchup against the Steelers, and Meyers’ value stays down for me.
A matchup to pay attention to in this game is defensive weapon T.J. Watt against Raiders backup rookie right tackle DJ Glaze if Thayer Munford can’t play again in Week 6 (knee/ankle). According to Next Gen Stats, Watt has converted 23.2% of his pressures into sacks since 2018 and lines up as the left edge rusher for for 94.4% of snaps. Pair him against Glaze, who has he has allowed 13 pressures and 2 sacks on 113 pass blocks in 2024, and Watt is sure to get home—or at least make commotion in the backfield.
Pittsburgh’s DT Cam Heyward has also caused a fair amount of chaos for QBs so far in 2024, generating 11 pressures on 83 pass rushes this season (13.3% pressure rate). Gardner Minshew completed just 2/4 passes under pressure last week vs. the Broncos, and Aiden O’Connell completed 44.4% of passes under pressure once he took over under center. It’s hard to imagine Meyers’ volume will go up this week with questionable quarterback play.
I’m not loving what’s going on in Las Vegas, and the matchup with Pittsburgh doesn’t make Jakobi Meyers’ fantasy value appetizing. If you need him in the FLEX, he’ll gain some points due to splitting targets with Brock Bowers, but him being a “must-start” is too far-fetched
All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
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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.
