Raiders vs Jets: Buying and Selling

It’s tough to imagine Week 1 going any better for the Raiders — a road win against a playoff-caliber team thanks to an all-around team performance. For their Week 2 opponent? Well, it’s tough to imagine things going any worse — a nine-point loss to a team that belongs in the same dreadful tier of NFL teams as they do.

With Week 2 on the horizon, who we are buying and who are we selling.

Buying

Jared Cook

After a solid, five-catch, 56 yard performance in Week 1, Cook could be poised for another big game Sunday as he gets more and more comfortable in this offense. Keep in mind, with a team full of weapons like the Raiders have, teams are going to be forced to pick their poison — and a guy like Cook might be the biggest beneficiary of that.

Add in the fact that Charles Clay went for 4 catches, 53 yards and a touchdown against the Jets and Cook seems like a solid bet this weekend.

Marshawn Lynch

While many had questions about what kind of player Oakland was getting in the 31-year-old, those questions were authoritatively answered on Sunday: 18 carries, 76 yards and a number of defenders left in his wake. Last week, the Jets gave up 159 total yards to Lesean McCoy (110 rushing, 49 receiving) in what was a reasonably close game.

Considering that this one could get out of hand quickly, expect Beast Mode to get plenty of touches as the Raiders look to close things out.

Reggie Nelson, Karl Joseph

Last week, Josh McCown threw two interceptions — both to the Bills’ safeties. In the same vein as Lynch’s outlook, if this game gets ugly quick, then the Jets could be forced to be more aggressive than normal — playing right into the hands of these two ball-hawks.

Josh McCown

This might seem like a weird one, but I actually like McCown more than most. Of course, his weapons are a complete joke aside from Bilal Powell, but this could be a big numbers, ugly loss kind of day for McCown. Look for 300 yards, 1-2 touchdowns and 2 picks — which, considering the expectations, is worth a spot in the ‘BUY’ category.

Bilal Powell

It’ll be a slow day on the ground for the Jets, but given the Raiders’ issues with backs and tight ends, and McCown’s propensity to dump it off, Powell could very easily finish the game with 8-10 catches.

Selling

Giorgio Tavecchio

Not that it’ll be a bad game for Papa Giorgio, but it can’t possibly live up to the hype of his first game, right? Right?

Marquette King

Might be a slow day for the best punter in the league — and that’s a good thing.

Matt Forte

He’s the second-best back on his team, he was brutal in Week 1 (6 carries, 16 yards) and an ugly game plays far more into the hands of a back like Powell. I’m selling Forte all-day, every-day this Sunday.