The Las Vegas Raiders rushing attack is off to a brutal start to the 2024 campaign, as neither Zamir White nor Alexander Mattison has been able to do much over two games, which has led to Las Vegas sporting the worst ground game in the NFL.
White had just nine carries last week against the Baltimore Ravens after Las Vegas fell behind early, and he compiled just 24 rushing yards. He saw more work in the passing game than the week before, though, but that amounted to three receptions for 14 yards.
Meanwhile, Mattison continued to play second fiddle to White, tallying just four touches for one measly yard, although he did find pay dirt. He was not targeted once in the passing game after seeing six targets the week prior.
Looking ahead to the Raiders' Week 3 matchup against the Carolina Panthers, should either player be in your lineup? Perhaps surprisingly, one should.
Fantasy Football Start 'Em, Sit 'Em: Zamir White
White has gotten off to a disappointing start to the season, but Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce isn't blaming it on him and is instead putting it on the offensive line.
Pierce also made an eye-opening comment about White, saying the team would love to get him 20 touches per game, which was great to hear.
“I’m gonna keep pumping him up," Pierce said of White. "Our goal is to get 20+ touches with him. That was the goal this week, didn’t happen. That’s gonna be the goal this week and every week while he’s the starting running back and I’m here.
“Isn’t [because of] Zamir [White]. We got to start up front. The big boys up front got to block. Bottom line. They know it. We are going to talk about it here in a few minutes."
While there is plenty of trepidation for starting White given what we've seen over two games, Week 3 is a good spot to give him a look.
Las Vegas draws a matchup against a flailing Panthers defense that has given up the second-most fantasy points per game to running backs. On top of that, game script should be in White's favor because the Panthers aren't likely to be playing with a lead the way the Ravens were last week.
Verdict: Start 'Em
Fantasy Football Start 'Em, Sit 'Em: Alexander Mattison
Given Pierce's aforementioned comments on White, it doesn't look like Mattison is going to assume control of the backfield anytime soon.
Mattison has managed to score a touchdown in each game thus far, but he has just 13 touches in total and wasn't even targeted in the passing game last week. This is a great matchup with the Panthers' ineptitude against backs, but Mattison simply can't be trusted. As of right now, he's merely a handcuff.
Verdict: Sit 'Em
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