If you happen to own Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger or wide receivers Mike Wallace and Antonio Brown in your fantasy league, you really should consider putting them in your lineup this week, as the Oakland Raiders have serious issues right now at the cornerback position thanks to injuries.
In their week one game against the San Diego Chargers, the Raiders lost starter Ron Bartell for several weeks to a broken shoulder blade. To make matters worse, they lost their other starting cornerback Shawntae Spencer against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday for several weeks to a sprained foot. The injuries now mean that Pat Lee and Joselio Hanson will likely start Sunday against the Steelers with Coye Francies, who was promoted off of the practice squad on Sunday, serving as the Raiders nickel corner.
The Raiders also have Philip Adams on their roster, but he is mostly regarded as a return specialist. Should they not sign a free agent such as Chris Carr off the street, the Raiders will likely have to promote cornerback Chimdi Chekwa off of their practice squad at some point for depth purposes.
Another option the Raiders will have at their disposal would be to move free safety Michael Huff to cornerback in some packages, with Matt Giordano then getting snaps in his place at free safety. You think the Raiders would like to have DeMarcus Van Dyke back about right now?
Regardless of the way it shakes out come Sunday, we certainly should see the Steelers offense use more 11 personnel (three wide receivers) and perhaps the no-huddle in an attempt to attack the Raiders secondary.
