Yeah, the past decade-or-so has been bag-worthy (Getty)
The Juggernaut Index is our annual preseason ranking of NFL teams for fantasy purposes. Repeat: FANTASY PURPOSES. Here, we care primarily about yards and points. We’re not forecasting wins and losses. This isn’t your standard NFL power ranking. If a team’s roster features multiple upper-tier fantasy assets, that group will rank near the top of the J.I. If instead a team features nothing but fantasy drek, you’ll find ‘em near the bottom. Make sense? Great. Really, the J.I. is just a gimmick, a way to deliver team-by-team fantasy spin.
Raiders fans have witnessed double-digit loss campaigns in eight of the past 10 years, and their team hasn’t had a winning record since 2002. So we’re talking about a group of people who understand suffering — deep, severe, unrelenting suffering. This franchise used to inflict pain on opponents. They now inflict it on their fan base, daily.
Because Oakland has been down for so long, I’d like to open today’s Juggernaut installment with a positive note. Here goes…
Sebastian Janikowksi is great at kicking. Definitely one of my favorite NFL specialists. If you have an inflated ball that needs to be kicked a significant distance, Sea Bass is your guy. (When his hamstrings are OK.) In fantasy leagues that award bonus points for long-range field goals, he’s especially useful.
Honestly, even if Janikowski weren’t much of a scorer, he’d still be worth owning just for the excitement you'll feel when he attempts an 80-yard kick at the end of a half. He’s a blast. Draft and enjoy. Janikowski is welcome on any fake team of mine, any year.
And so ends the feel-good portion of our Raiders preview. From this point on, it’s pretty much all bad news.
Read More »from Juggernaut Index, No. 31: The Oakland Raiders







