Do not look now, but the Oakland Raiders have momentum. The team is coming off two solid wins as they appear to be putting things together on both sides of the ball. Derek Carr is looking more and more like a quarterback worth investing in while Amari Cooper is living up to the hype. While the team is getting the production from their stars, it is names on the depth chart coming up in key moments as Seth Roberts turns into a name to remember.
Fantasy owners in deeper leagues would be wise to look at Roberts as a key addition to a roster. Yes, Cooper and Michael Crabtree are the stars of the offense, but Roberts is getting key catches in touchdowns when it matters. The receiver might have just 80 yards on the season, but two buzzer-beater touchdowns have him leading the receivers in scores through three games. Roberts has emerged as the No.3 receiver for the team over players like Andre Holmes and fullback Marcel Reece. Carr is taking advantage of Roberts and the quality depth on the roster.
"Seth's been making big plays all offseason and training camp so now he's gaining Derek's trust that he's going to make a play for him," Holmes said, via BakersfieldNow.com. "Really, what I'm seeing is a lot of teams are playing us man-to-man. It's not even people keeping eyes on Amari or Crab. It's just more we're beating other teams when they're going man-to-man on us."
It is players like Roberts that have the Raiders turning a few heads through three games into the season. The team now faces a critical matchup against the Chicago Bears. If the Raiders can defeat the Bears, they stamp their name back on the map in the NFL. Head coach Jack Del Rio is trying not to get ahead of himself after two straight wins in the season as he stresses the team still has a long ways to go.
"No. No. We've got way to much work to do," Del Rio said, via ESPN.com. "It's a week-to-week league. Listen, we're thrilled that we won in Week 3 and we are going to shortly here turn our attention to Week 4. It's imperative that we turn our full attention to the Chicago Bears and our Week 4 preparation and seek to continue to develop as a football team. We've taken some steps forward."
The Raiders are hoping things continue to trend upwards. Latavius Murray had a breakout game with 139 yards and a touchdown while Cooper racked up 134 yards off eight catches. The pieces appear to be developing as the team cashes in on depth.
