Getty Oakland Raiders WR Martavis Bryant
The Oakland Raiders have become one of the most frustrating and tough to gauge teams in the NFL. Not only did they deal away a plethora of young and talented players, but they’re also making life tough on fantasy football owners. Most recently, the decision to trade wide receiver Amari Cooper was expected to open the door for Martavis Bryant.
But as we saw in Week 8, that didn’t prove to be the case.
Not only did Bryant fail to record a single catch in his first week as the expected replacement for Cooper, but he didn’t see one target from quarterback Derek Carr. The Raiders signal caller completed 21-of-28 passes but apparently didn’t feel the need to even look Bryant’s way in the 42-28 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
So the big question becomes, is there any reason fantasy players should go back to him in Week 9? Unfortunately, this week features the most teams on bye (six) to this point, and quite a few big names are out of commission. Let’s take a deep dive into Bryant’s situation and see how the start-sit fantasy debate looks.
Should You Start or Sit Martavis Bryant?
In short, I wouldn’t touch the situation with Bryant and it goes beyond just his lack of targets. Part of the reason why the electrifying wideout didn’t see a single target is that he was hardly on the field in Week 8. As Football Outsiders reveals, Jon Gruden and company chose to play Bryant a total of seven offensive snaps in the loss.
For comparison’s sake, Brandon LaFell, who hadn’t seen a single target this season, played 46 snaps and caught three passes for 39 yards and one touchdown. Along with LaFell, Jordy Nelson played 45 snaps followed by Seth Roberts with 30.
Until the Raiders figure out how they want to approach Bryant’s workload and give him a legitimate chance to make an impact, this is nothing more than a dart-throw play. The only place I’d even consider using him this week is in 16-team leagues or larger where bye weeks have left you incredibly thin. For me, the matchup against the San Francisco 49ers is irrelevant due to the inconsistencies and concerns.