Derek Carr

Week 13 at New York Jets

Derek Carr crapped the bed in an easy matchup against the Falcons last week, throwing for 215 yards and a pick in a blowout loss. Nathan Peterman ended the game because Carr was so dismal. The entire Raiders offense struggled, despite going up against one of the league’s most statistically vulnerable defenses.

Carr has another nice matchup this week against the Jets, who rank 21st in aFPA to opposing quarterbacks, and just gave up a pair of touchdown passes to Ryan Fitzpatrick. It’s hard to trust him after last week, but he’s mostly been efficient and worth spot-starting in solid matchups, so we have him ranked as a fringe QB1 this week. If you need a bye week option or a QB2, roll Carr out again and cross your fingers.

Week 11 vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Derek Carr didn’t have to do much last week against the Broncos, as Drew Lock threw four interceptions and the Raiders were able to cruise to an easy, lopsided victory. Las Vegas played ball-control and ran the ball 37 times with their top-two running backs, scoring four touchdowns on the ground. Carr was left with just 154 yards on the day.

This week, expect Carr to be forced to throw the ball a bit more than the 25 times he did last week. He’ll face a Chiefs defense that ranks ninth in aFPA to opposing quarterbacks, but features an offense that will keep the pressure on the Raiders to put up points. Carr threw for 347 yards and a pair of touchdowns the last time these two teams met, and I would expect similar production this week. He’s a fringe starter, and a nice bye week or injury substitution in most leagues.

Week 9 at Los Angeles Chargers

In some rough wind, the Raiders ran the ball 45 times and Derek Carr had just 24 pass attempts in a low-scoring victory over the Browns last week. Carr had 112 yards and a touchdown in the victory, as defense carried the day. Carr boasts a 14 touchdown to just two interceptions ratio this season, and has the Raiders sitting on a 4-3 record. When weather is less of an issue, expect Carr to continue throwing the ball 30-40 times per game and to put up solid QB2 numbers.

This week, he’ll face a Chargers’ defense that ranks 29th in aFPA to opposing quarterbacks. That solid matchup should make him a quality fringe-QB1 this week, and an excellent streaming option if he’s available on the wire. Carr and the Raiders seem to have turned a corner this season, and fantasy owners should try to capitalize on the bad reputation and add him where possible on the cheap.