Raiders-Jaguars fantasy preview: Travis Etienne thrives

Jaguars running back Travis Etienne appears to be a full-fledged fantasy superstar now that he has the Jacksonville backfield to himself.

Etienne was putting up pedestrian numbers over his first six games, as he was locked in a timeshare with James Robinson and never got more than 53 percent of the offensive snaps.

Then came the Oct. 23 game against the Giants. Etienne eclipsed the century mark for the first time in his career, posting 114 rushing yards and scoring a touchdown with an 80 percent snap share in a game in which Robinson received one target and no carries.

Robinson was traded to the Jets two days later, clearing the way for Etienne’s 156-yard breakout game in London against the Broncos last Sunday. He has finished in the top seven among running backs in fantasy football in back-to-back games.

Etienne has a shot at another big game Sunday when the Jaguars host a Raiders team still reeling from last week’s blowout loss to the Saints.

Jacksonville coach Doug Pederson certainly has been watching tape on how the Saints utilized Alvin Kamara against the Raiders defense and scheming up ways to use Etienne, who is similarly gifted in the passing game and has the potential to make big plays when he gets the ball in open space.

Here’s a look at other players in Sunday’s game:

Buy

Davante Adams, WR, Raiders — There is nowhere to go but up after Adams endured perhaps the least productive game of his NFL career against the Saints.

He had one catch for 3 yards and a carry for a loss of 2 yards. Adams did come close to making a sensational deep catch down the left sideline, but it was ruled incomplete.

There have been troubling stat lines this season, but Adams will bounce back. Don’t panic and do something silly like bench him or trade him.

Josh Jacobs, RB, Raiders — The same applies here. Jacobs had been on the best run of his career before running into a brick wall in New Orleans.

He won’t rush for 140 yards every week, but he will post some fantasy-winning numbers.

Sell

Derek Carr, QB, Raiders — He will have big weeks here and there, as evidenced by a QB6 finish in a Week 3 loss at Tennessee.

But his back is clearly affecting his play, and he has finished in the top 12 among quarterbacks once in the four games since then.

He’s not a terrible streaming option this week, but look elsewhere for a weekly starter.

Christian Kirk, WR, Jaguars — This could be a similar situation, as Kirk is a solid option this week even if he can’t be counted on as a weekly WR2.

Kirk has regressed after a hot start, as defenses have adjusted and made him a focus of their game plan.

He has 17 catches in the past five games and scored once during that span. Should he have a big game against a banged-up Raiders secondary, look to trade him.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.