Raiders vs Chargers fantasy start, sit, sleepers

Coming off a coaching change along with multiple injuries, the Raiders' chances do not look great against the Chargers who are one of the hottest teams in football. Who should you start, sit or stash on your fantasy teams?

Start

Philip Rivers

Through five weeks, Philip Rivers has been the best player in the NFL. He has scored over 20 points three times this season and is projected to rack up 20.22 against the Silver and Black. The Raiders just don't have the secondary and pass rush to stop the Chargers star quarterback. Expect a big night from number 17.

Keenan Allen and Malcom Floyd

Yes, Allen has struggled thus far, but he is still the number one receiver on the Chargers and will have an extremely favorable matchup against Tarell Brown. Floyd on the other hand has played well and will look to use his massive frame in the red zone to score touchdowns. With Ryan Mathews, Danny Woodhead and Donald Brown out, fourth string runningback Branden Oliver will carry the rock for the Chargers. While he played great last week, expect Rivers to air it out the majority of the game, especially to his wide receivers.

Antonio Gates

Like Raiders safety Charles Woodson, Gates is a master of defying age. While he was expected to have a poor season with less targets, the veteran has played great and is the second highest scoring tight end. Gates will look to improve on his 18 point performance against the Jets. With Nick Roach and Kaluka Maiava out, the Raiders will be thin at linebacker. And while Sio Moore has played great and is practicing again, he is still coming off an ankle injury that cost him two games. Look for Gates to have a big night against the Raiders depleted linebacker corps.

Nick Novak

The Chargers have put up points in bunches this season, and that is great news for Nick Novak. He is ranked as the number five kicker and is 10-10 on the year. If the Chargers light up the scoreboard as I expect them to, Novak will be in for a big night.

Chargers Defense

San Diego's defense is ranked in the top five and is coming off a shutout to the New York Jets. So far through four weeks, Oakland's offense has been just as bad as New York's so expect a similar result. The Chargers have a great secondary that should shutdown the Raiders receiving core.

Sit

Oakland Raiders Defense

While they mustered up three takeaways against the Dolphins, the Raiders will be playing without Nick Roach, Kaluka Maiava and D.J. Hayden. They are also facing one of the hottest offenses in the NFL. The only thing boding well for the defense is that San Diego is down to their fourth string runningback.

Raiders running backs

At this point in the season, I would not even have any of them on your bench. Maurice Jones-Drew has 2.6 points in two games and Darren McFadden has 28 in four games. While that number may look good, he has not gotten the ball enough to be considered a reliable option. Now that MJD is back and healthy, McFadden should see his carries drop even more.

Raiders Offense

Sit the entire Raiders roster. They are simply not putting up points. The Raiders offense has not scored more than 14 points in a game this season, and that kills the fantasy performances of their offensive players. Derek Carr should play but is nursing a knee and ankle injury, Rod Streater is out, and the Raiders running game has been embarrassing. The only player on this list who I would consider playing is James Jones.

Sleepers

There are no sleepers this week. Generally, this category is where the Raiders players go. But due to their struggles, I have demoted them to the sit category until they prove that they should be listed higher.