Martavis Bryant Continues to Struggle – Fantasy Context
Martavis Bryant has continued to struggle at Raiders camp as he has reportedly struggled to grasp the new offense.
This news comes on the heels of coach Jon Gruden calling Bryant out last week and further solidifies Jordy Nelson as the starter across from Amari Cooper but also highlights the fact that Bryant could be in danger of losing regular season snaps in three wide sets to the likes of Ryan Switzer.
Fantasy context:
Martavis Bryant – Bryant has transformed for off-season sleeper WR3 option to an upside, albeit mammoth upside, WR5 or bench/depth option. Taking a stab at Bryant in the later rounds of your draft still makes sense but we can no longer draft him with confidence as a sleeper who is destined to finish among the top-30 at his position. His upside remains unchanged here but his floor has found a new bottom which forces us to slightly tinker our draft strategies as far as it pertains to the mercurial Bryant.
Ryan Switzer – Ryan Switzer suddenly finds himself fantasy relevant in ocean deep leagues as an upside bye week filler/bench option. He’s also worth a look in the final rounds of best ball leagues.
Derek Carr – Carr proved his upside in 2016, however in 2017 he displayed a floor few thought possible coming off a stellar 2015 and 2016 campaigns and entering the year full of high expectations. Carr can easily finish the season as a top ten fantasy QB if Bryant is available and has a firm grasp of the playbook but could just as easily slip back into QB2 mediocrity if Nelson and Bryant can’t step up for the Raiders.
Marshawn Lynch/Doug Martin – The Raiders run game’s upside could quietly take a hit without Martavis Bryant playing to his fullest capabilities. Bryant is a field stretcher and if he is the third wideout there is no way any opposing defense can stack the box to stop the run leaving sizeable lanes for the Lynch, Martin combo. While this news doesn’t necessarily affect their draft rankings it does however lower the floor.
