2024 Fantasy Football Draft Prep: Las Vegas Raiders player outlooks, schedule, depth chart and more to know

The Raiders finished with a middling 8-9 record, but there was a noticeable difference in the energy the team played with once Antonio Pierce became the interim head coach in Week 9. They won five out of their last nine games, including a 42-point victory over the Chargers and a 20-14 victory over the eventual Super Bowl champion Chiefs. They'll look to pick up where they left off with Pierce as the permanent head coach in 2024.  

Below the CBS Sports Fantasy staff will take a look into the Raiders' entire team outlook including changes to the top of the depth chart that matter for Fantasy, a burning question for Fantasy Football managers that needs to be answered, a review of their draft class, strength of schedule, and individual player outlooks for all of the notable Raiders players who may end up on your Fantasy rosters.

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Raiders 2024 lineup changes

Burning question: Do the Raiders have enough talent at quarterback to compete?

Aidan O'Connell's performance in the closing games of the 2023 season deserves recognition. He displayed high efficiency and operated effectively within the Raiders' offensive system. However, while the coaching staff believes running back Zamir White can fill the void left by Josh Jacobs, White may not possess the same game-changing ability as Jacobs. With no established bell-cow running back, O'Connell may see an increase in pass attempts, potentially hindering the Raiders' offensive consistency. If O'Connell and/or Gardner Minshew encounter difficulties, don't be surprised if Anthony Brown Jr. receives an extended look due to his ability to extend plays with his legs. A quarterback who can make it an 11-on-11 game could help the Raiders offense stay on the field and give the defense the rest it needs to remain effective for all four quarters.  

2024 NFL Draft class

Raiders 2024 schedule

Raiders 2024 player outlooks

By Dave Richard and CBS Fantasy staff

QB Gardner Minshew

Minshew will battle it out with incumbent spot starter Aidan O'Connell for the Raiders' starting QB job in 2024. Minshew fit in well with the Colts in 2023 and settled in as a QB2 in Fantasy. While he had spike weeks (QB2 and QB6 finishes), he also struggled to finish weeks inside the top 12 at QB in all but three of his games. Minshew joins a Raiders group with talented pass catchers in Davante Adams, Brock Bowers and Jakobi Meyers, but what should also be a run-first offense under HC Antonio Pierce. Minshew is a back-end QB2 if he wins the starting job and is not worth rostering in one-QB leagues.

QB Aidan O'Connell

O'Connell will compete with Gardner Minshew for the Raiders' starting QB job this preseason. The two were eerily similar statistically in 2023 in completion rate, yards per attempt, TD rate, and even in average depth of throw and off-target rate. Unfortunately, neither was particularly effective compared to other quarterbacks around the league, though it's worth mentioning that O'Connell hit 20 or more Fantasy points in three of his final four games while Minshew went over 20 Fantasy points just three times all season with the Colts. Whoever wins the starting job will have the luxury of throwing to both Davante Adams and Brock Bowers, but neither one will be treated as anything more than a low-end No. 2 Fantasy QB. O'Connell will get picked in the middle rounds of two-QB drafts.

QB Carter Bradley

Bradley, an undrafted free agent, will compete for a roster spot with the Raiders this preseason. A two-year starter at South Alabama, Bradley completed over 65% of his throws for over 5,000 yards and 47 passing touchdowns in 24 games. He's got a solid arm and could eventually compete for meaningful reps someday, but because it's unlikely he'll ever be a regular starter, it's OK for Fantasy managers to pass on him in Dynasty leagues.  

RB Zamir White

After letting Josh Jacobs leave via free agency, it appears White will be the Raiders' lead running back -- and a top-20 option on Draft Day. Given an opportunity to lead the backfield in the final four games last season, White averaged 15.2 PPR and 12.9 non-PPR points per game while getting 23.3 touches on average. The Raiders went 3-1 in those outings with two blowouts, certainly a result the coaching staff liked. That could be why the only players the team added to it backfield were veteran Alexander Mattison and sixth-round rookie Dylan Laube. White only has those four games to go off of, but if he's the primary running-downs back for the Raiders then he should see a good amount of work with stats to follow. Consider him when you get to Round 5.  

RB Alexander Mattison

Mattison signed with the Raiders this offseason, and he's expected to be the No. 2 running back to open the season behind Zamir White. Mattison is only worth drafting with a late-round pick in the majority of leagues. In 2023, Mattison struggled as the lead running back for the Vikings and averaged just 8.3 PPR points per game. Despite 180 carries, Mattison failed to score a rushing touchdown (he caught three scores), but he should play a prominent role with the Raiders behind an inexperienced starter in White. Rookie Dylan Laube will also have a role, likely in the passing game, but Mattison is the expected handcuff should something happen to White. Mattison is a good running back to stash on your bench just to see how White does in his first full season as the starter in Las Vegas.  

RB Dylan Laube

A sixth-round pick out of New Hampshire, Laube brings a complete skill set to the Raiders backfield and could be a factor on passing downs. That's because he caught 117 passes over his past two years for well over 1,000 yards and nine touchdowns -- and that's on top of the nearly 2,000 rush yards and 24 scores he had. Laube is stocky with quickness, underrated power, experience lining up in the slot and obviously excellent receiving skills, but he doesn't have great top-end speed and clearly dominated FCS-level competition (he did look good at Senior Bowl practices against tougher competition, for what that's worth). If he can carve out a role as the Raiders' third-down back, he could be useful as a bench option in PPR leagues. Until it's clear he's in that role, however, Laube should only be taken late in deeper Dynasty leagues.

WR Davante Adams

You might lower expectations for Adams in 2024, but not to the point where you'll want to ignore him. Proof of his dynamite production came at the beginning and the end of last season: Adams did well in his first three games (25.1 PPR point average) before Jimmy Garoppolo got concussed, then the Raiders season fell apart and the offense struggled until the final four weeks when Aidan O'Connell got comfortable (19.7 PPR point average). The film will also show that Adams is still explosive, but he clearly needs adequate quarterback play. To that end, O'Connell will battle Gardner Minshew for the starting job this preseason. The two passers had nearly identical efficiency metrics in 2023 but neither one was particularly good, save for O'Connell in his last four. Even if O'Connell improved a little bit this offseason then he should earn the job and have a chance to help Adams achieve quality stats. And even if it's Minshew, at least you know he pushed Michael Pittman to a 16.5 PPR per-game average in his 12 complete games in Indy. Draft Adams with 16 PPR point expectations (probably closer to 9.5 non-PPR points) starting in late Round 2.

WR Jakobi Meyers

Meyers sneakily averaged 13.8 PPR points per game in 2023, beating his 12.9 average from 2022. It'll be tough to count on him to do that well again in 2024 not only because of the Raiders' middling QB battle between Aidan O'Connell and Gardner Minshew, but because the team added rookie tight end Brock Bowers, who is likely to take targets away from everyone in the offense not named Davante Adams. Meyers is worth drafting as a bench receiver, but not with a pick before Round 10.

WR Tre Tucker

Tucker's speed will give him a shot to earn some meaningful snaps this season with the Raiders, but it's a crowded offense that should limit the number of targets he gets from week to week. Tucker is a decent late option in Best Ball drafts since he could have two to three games this year with some huge numbers, but otherwise Fantasy managers should ignore him until he earns more targets. 

WR Michael Gallup

Gallup's Fantasy value has been on a downward trend for nearly half a decade and has now bottomed out outside of the consensus top 200 players. Gallup's yards per game have declined for four straight seasons and he had 10 games with fewer than 20 receiving yards last season. He should be left on the waiver wire in all formats and is no longer young enough to leave on your Dynasty bench in hopes of a brighter future. We don't expect the move to Las Vegas to revitalize his career.  

TE Brock Bowers

It was surprising that the Raiders took Bowers with their first-round pick, giving them a very unique talent who could shine as soon as this year. An instant hit at Georgia, Bowers scored 13 touchdowns as a freshman, then totaled 13 touchdowns with over 1,600 receiving yards in his next two seasons (25 games). Bowers also worked on occasion as a rusher, including when he lined up as a Wildcat QB. He is very much a mismatch tight end in the mold of George Kittle, capable of working downfield for splash plays or taking short passes a good distance through his ruthless power and speed. He's just not as effective as a blocker, but that's something Fantasy managers don't have to sweat. There is an injury track record with Bowers but he's too promising of a player to ignore. Consider him a start-worthy Fantasy tight end with much more upside than downside if you get in him Round 8 or later. In rookie-only drafts he could go as high as fourth overall (especially in one-QB leagues) or as late as 10th overall (much more likely in Superflex/two-QB leagues).

TE Michael Mayer

Mayer's profile took a massive hit when the Raiders drafted Brock Bowers in April. Not that Mayer was a particularly appealing Fantasy tight end before the draft -- as a rookie he had three games with double-digit PPR points. Typically we wouldn't recommend a tight end unless he had a shot to be first or second on his team in targets -- Mayer might be fourth or fifth. That's not enough work for him to be helpful in redraft leagues.

TE Harrison Bryant

Bryant signed with the Raiders this offseason, but he's not expected to have a prominent role with his new team. He's not worth drafting in the majority of leagues. Las Vegas has two tight ends likely ahead of Bryant on the depth chart in rookie Brock Bowers and second-year Michael Mayer. The Raiders also have Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers seeking targets, and Bryant has never been a quality Fantasy option in four seasons with the Browns, averaging 4.1 PPR points per game or less in each year. At best, you can add Bryant off the waiver wire if he starts off the season playing well.   

K Daniel Carlson

After a few sensational seasons, Carlson became a Fantasy liability in 2023, averaging just over seven points per game. The Raiders offense is expected to be conservative, even with new addition Brock Bowers at tight end and Davante Adams still rolling at wide receiver. That could limit Carlson's chances to be a good kicker, which is why we wouldn't draft him this preseason.

Raiders DST

You might be able to talk yourself into drafting the Raiders DST as a Week 1 streaming option, but it's mission impossible to talk yourself into them being a good season-long choice. Even with Maxx Crosby attacking quarterbacks, the Raiders DST hasn't been productive enough for Fantasy in a while. The addition of Christian Wilkins helps the D-line a lot, but it still figures to come up short most weeks. However, the Raiders play at the Chargers in Week 1, a matchup versus an offense with a great quarterback and offensive line, but little else. We'd prefer the Chargers, Bengals and Saints DSTs as streaming options, but if you can't get them and like having no strings attached to your defenses, the Raiders make some sense.