Gardner Minshew: Las Vegas Raiders Starting QB - Fantasy Football Impact
We want to be rational. We really do. But every once in a while, there is a quarterback that you just WANT to root for. Or root against. You aren’t always sure why, but everyone has them.
They can be polarizing players like Tim Tebow, Taysom Hill, Justin Fields or Caleb Williams. They can be great “comeback” stories like Baker Mayfield or Geno Smith. Underdogs like Brock Purdy or Joshua Dobbs. Rookies like C.J. Stroud last year or Bo Nix this year.
For me? Well, there’s only one hype train that I irrationally root for. And that’s the glorious creature known as Gardner Minshew.
And guess what? Minshew Mania OFFICIALLY lives on! Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce officially named Gardner Minshew the starting quarterback for 2024. That doesn’t mean he will keep the job all year, though, with Aiden O’Connell breathing down his neck. But we’ll at least get one more look at the larger-than-life character this year.
Let’s see what bringing the traveling Minshew Circus to town might mean for the passing options. And for our 2024 fantasy football rankings!
*Editor's Note: Be sure to check out the Fantasy Alarm 2024 Fantasy Football NFL Draft Guide! With our bevy of articles, tools and expert insights, you can draft confidently knowing you're stocked with the best of the best. Snag your copy now!
Davante Adams
Davante Adams got a whopping 108 targets out of Aiden O’Connell’s 322 catchable targets last year. That’s an insane 33.5% – just over one third. So, you would think this might be a negative for Adams. But, in the games they were both healthy, Michael Pittman Jr. actually got 134 of Gardner Minshew’s 430 catchable targets. Which is around 31.2%.
So, Adams could keep up his typical pace of 10 targets a game except, this time around, the targets should be of higher quality. Worst case, they go back to Aiden O’Connell and that’s still fine for Adams.
Jakobi Meyers
Jakobi Meyers is the guy who could feel the pain from the QB change here. First off, he already had rapport with Aiden O’Connell. It’s one thing if you are a superstar like Adams and the targets are a given, but it’s another when you have to actually compete for the ball. And now Meyers will be competing with rookie phenom tight end Brock Bowers.
Josh Downs, operating out of the slot, did have a couple of big games with Minshew early on last season, but he failed to crack 53 yards in a game over the second half of the campaign. And one of his biggest target games, a 9-target game in Week 16, came in the week Michael Pittman was out. Meyers should still be “okay”, but he doesn’t really have a high ceiling. Though he never really has.
Brock Bowers
If Jakobi Meyers is hurt by the loss of his familiar QB, the unknown Brock Bowers is the beneficiary. Both Bowers and Minshew are brand new to the team so it’s a clean slate. Bowers is essentially just a big wide receiver himself so he could step directly into the number two target chair. Not to mention, Minshew targeted tight end on 20.6% of his attempts last year vs. O’Connell at only 14% in 2024, so Minshew did prefer the big boys.
Neither team had a good pass-catching tight end room, but Michael Mayer and Austin Hooper were probably better than anything the Colts had, yet Minshew still targeted them more than O’Connell. Now the tight end room is loaded, so expect that percentage to be a lot higher.
Raiders Running Backs
Whenever a new QB wins the battle, I consider that exciting for the starting running back. Why? Well, we’ve seen what this offense looks like with O’Connell. It was fine. But maybe it can be even better with Minshew. The Colts were a bad drop by Tyler Goodson away from potentially making the playoffs, after all.
And, if Minshew fails, we just get Aiden O’Connell back (who should be better in year two than year one as well). It’s just another level of unknown upside for a position whose success depends heavily on the overall quality of the offense. Zamir White is looking like the starter but there could be some upside down the depth chart. We know what Alexander Mattison is at this point – a serviceable but boring backup.
The fun one is Dylan Laube, a pass-catching rookie out of the University of New Hampshire. Keep an eye on him to see if he can carve out a role. Minshew last year targeted RBs at 15.5% which is only slightly higher than O’Connell at 12.4%. But they also didn’t really have a true pass-down compliment to Josh Jacobs.
Player News
ESPN’s Seth Wickersham reports Caleb Williams considered forcing a pre-draft trade from the Bears before ultimately deciding he could win in Chicago.
In other words, he mulled pulling an Elway. “Chicago is the place quarterbacks go to die,” were the words of Caleb’s father Carl to ESPN’s Seth Wickersham. Williams reportedly desired a trade to the Vikings, but he changed his mind after touring the Bears’ facility. “I can do it for this team,” Caleb reportedly told his dad. “I’m going to go to the Bears.” Williams acknowledged any attempt to force a trade would require going scorched earth on the Bears and city of Chicago, a process he did not have the stomach for. There have been zero reports of Bears/Williams drama since he made his peace with the idea, even after former coach Matt Eberflus’ clown show 2024 mistakes. It’s an interesting story, but one firmly planted in the past.
49ers signed No. 11 pick EDGE Mykel Williams to a four-year contract.
The deal is worth $24.9 million and is fully guaranteed. As is the case with all first-round picks, his contract includes a fifth-year option. The 49ers shed hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts this offseason and the bulk of those savings came on the defensive side of the ball. Defensive end was an obvious position of need and Williams was widely regarded as the best pass-rusher on the board when 49ers GM John Lynch was on the clock. Williams totaled five sacks in 2024 and left Georgia with 14 sacks across three seasons as a starter.
Vikings signed No. 24 pick OG Donovan Jackson to a four-year contract.
It’s a fully guaranteed deal worth $17.2 million with a fifth-year team option. Minnesota taking Jackson with the 24th-overall pick came as a bit of a surprise on draft night, but the Vikings needed offensive line help and Jackson was considered worthy of a first-round pick by some draftniks. He was primarily a left guard at Ohio State but successfully kicked out to tackle for the bulk of his senior season. Jackson is likely fated for guard duties in Minnesota, but the positional versatility remains a plus.
Titans claimed Anfernee Orji off waivers from the Saints.
Orji played primarily on special teams in New Orleans but was credited with two starts across 16 appearances. He totaled 30 combined tackles and a pair of TFLs. Orji will need to continue seeing work on special teams to make the Titans’ roster.
Patriots signed RB Trayveon Williams, formerly of the Bengals.
Henderson was passed on the Cincinnati depth chart by Chase Brown last year and the team even traded for Khalil Herbert midseason. Despite having no role on offense, Williams was active for all 17 games as a special teamer. He will likely hold a similar role in New England if he cracks the team’s 53-man roster.
Free agent RB Jordan Mims worked out for the Patriots.
The Pats also worked out former Bengals running back Trayveon Williams. Mims ran 20 times for 70 yards in 2024 while adding 12 catches for 71 yards through the air. He also got some run on special teams. The Patriots are looking for some extra depth at running back, but there isn’t room for another fantasy-relevant option behind Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson.