Week 9 Fantasy Picks: Start 'Em, Sit 'Em for Raiders vs Giants

The Las Vegas Raiders will look to keep things rolling when they go on the road to take on the struggling New York Giants in Week 9. FanDuel Sportsbook has the Raiders slated as 3-point favorites in a game that is expected to go down to the wire.

If you need some help with your fantasy lineups, here's some start 'em, sit 'em advice for this Week 9 showdown.

Derek Carr Fantasy

Start Start Derek Carr, QB, Las Vegas Raiders: Quarterback Derek Carr was on fire before the Las Vegas Raiders enjoyed their bye in Week 8. The eighth-year pro has thrown for 664 yards and 4 touchdowns while completing 80.3% of his pass attempts over his last two games. He ranks as the QB17 in fantasy scoring and has a perfect chance to keep his momentum going on Sunday. The Giants have allowed the fifth-highest opponent completion percentage (68.4%) and have given up 15 passing touchdowns on the year (T-No. 23 in NFL). The Raiders love to pass the football and that bodes well for Carr in fantasy football. He's worth a start in Week 9.

Evan Engram Fantasy

Start Evan Engram, TE, New York Giants: Things are starting to turn around for New York Giants' tight end Evan Engram. The 27-year-old has hauled in 9 of his 12 targets for 59 yards and 1 touchdown over the last two weeks. Engram has also seen a red zone target in five of his last six games played and now gets to face a Raiders' defense that has been torched by opposing TEs. In fact, Las Vegas is giving up the fourth-most PPR fantasy points to the position. The Giants are losing pass-catchers to injuries left and right and that should allow Engram to take on a bigger role. He's a solid streaming option at TE.

Kenyan Drake Fantasy

Sit Kenyan Drake, RB, Las Vegas Raiders: This is a tough one given the success running back Kenyan Drake has found over the last two weeks (152 yards, 3 touchdowns). The simple fact is that he still remains the No. 2 option in this Raiders' backfield. Starter Josh Jacobs was a bit banged up during the team's last game, yet Drake still only played in 39% of the offensive snaps. He is averaging just 3.8 yards per rushing attempt and hasn't surpassed 40 receiving yards in a game since Week 2. While the Giants are not a difficult matchup by any means, the risk of Drake putting up a dud performance far outweighs the chance of him balling out.

Darius Slayton Fantasy

Sit Darius Slayton, WR, New York Giants: Fantasy managers may be tempted to give wide receiver Darius Slyton a shot this week given starter Sterling Shepard is likely out with a calf injury. However, it's not the best idea. Slayton has struggled to carve out a role in this offense and failed to haul in either of his 2 targets in Week 8. His ability to get open deep down the field is going to be tested against a Las Vegas defense that has allowed just 10.4 yards per reception to opposing WRs this season. The Raiders have also given up the fourth-fewest PPR fantasy points to the position. Keep Slayton on the bench for now.

SIGN UP AND GET AN INSTANT DEPOSIT BONUS UP TO 500! We'll match 20% of your first deposit on FanDuel Fantasy Sports. Max bonus $500

Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.