Derek Carr Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Raiders QB Derek Carr suffered a groin injury in the 1st quarter of Thursday night's game vs. the Chargers and is officially questionable to return. Stay tuned for an update. QB Marcus Mariota has replaced Carr.

Update: Carr won't return to this game.

The forecast for today's Raiders-Browns game calls for sustained winds of 25-30 mph with gusts around 45 mph. If that holds, it'll be 1 of the windier games in recent memory. It'll definitely impact the deep passing and kicking games. We've scaled back our passing projections for both teams and would avoid both kickers in this game. We could see heavy doses of RBs Josh Jacobs and Kareem Hunt today.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that Raiders WR Henry Ruggs is "a long shot" to play Sunday against the Bills. He's dealing with the hamstring injury that knocked him out of Week 3. That would leave Vegas without both rookie wideouts, as Bryan Edwards is also expected to sit. Those injuries certainly boost the upside for the Bills' defense in fantasy, while lowering the ceiling for Raiders QB Derek Carr. WR Hunter Renfrow should be in for nice target volume in a matchup that has proved favorable to slot WRs.

The Raiders added South Carolina WR Bryan Edwards in the 3rd round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He joins Henry Ruggs in Oakland’s remade WR corps. Edwards’ college production profile is as impressive as any WR in this class. He posted a 44-590-4 line as a 17-year-old true freshman and then led the Gamecocks with 64 catches, 793 yards and 5 scores as a sophomore. Edwards set new career highs with 846 yards and 7 TDs in 2018. And he turned in a 71-816-6 line this past year, despite missing 2 games. He led the SEC with 7.1 catches per game and ranked 4th with 81.6 receiving yards per game. Edwards is a 6’3, 212-pounder who plays to that size. He’s a tackle-breaker after the catch and is comfortable in contested situations. The big concern is Edwards’ injury history. He tore the meniscus in his right knee as a high school senior, strained a hamstring in 2016, hurt his left knee in 2019 and fractured his left foot while training for the Combine in February. Edwards figures to compete with Tyrell Williams for snaps in 2020.

The Raiders selected Alabama WR Henry Ruggs with the 12th overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft. Ahead of CeeDee Lamb and Jerry Jeudy. Wow. Ruggs has field-tilting speed. He averaged 17.5 yards per catch over 3 college seasons and blazed a 4.27-second 40 time at the Combine. The 5’11, 188-pounder also crushed the vertical and broad jumps to earn a 99th percentile SPARQ score. Ruggs’ college production is lacking, though. He never topped 46 catches or 746 receiving yards in a season, despite catching passes from QB Tua Tagovailoa for much of that time. Ruggs feasted on weaker competition, averaging 100 yards and 1.2 TDs per game vs. Non-Power 5 schools over the last 2 seasons but just 47 yards and .6 TDs vs. Power 5 opponents. And, despite that elite speed, he made just 4 receptions 20+ yards downfield in 2019. Ruggs also dealt with a rib injury, a lower-body injury and a 3rd undisclosed injury this past season. “He was really a specialist in their offense where they designed certain plays for him,” an anonymous scout told The Athletic’s Bob McGinn. “He is fast, but when people get on him you don’t see the same speed and route running. When he gets the ball, if he has a clear path, he can go. But he’s not a make-you-miss player.” It’ll be a disappointment if Ruggs doesn’t immediately carve out a significant role as a rookie, although we don’t like this fit with the conservative Derek Carr.

The forecast for today's Raiders-Chiefs game calls for winds of 20-30 mph and gusts of 40+. That's more than enough to impact the passing and kicking games. We wouldn't bench your usual Chiefs (Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins, Travis Kelce), but their ceilings might be capped a bit in the wind. Raiders QB Derek Carr and WR Tyrell Williams are shaky fantasy plays today. Ditto for Ks Harrison Butker and Daniel Carlson.