Andre Holmes' Updated 2014 Fantasy Outlook Heading into Week 7

Although the Oakland Raiders remain one of two teams without a win in 2014, Andre Holmes has emerged from the abyss as a burgeoning fantasy football star.

Considering how bad the Raiders have been through the air, it's a surprise that anybody attached to the passing game could muster up enough numbers to become a viable fantasy option at all.

Football Outsiders ranks Oakland's passing offense 28th in defense-adjusted value over average, and Oakland quarterbacks are throwing for an average 223 yards a game—21st in the league through six weeks.

Yet somehow, Holmes has strung two strong games together and may be on the way toward earning WR2 status. Here's how he's performed in the Raiders' first five games.

Week	Rec.	Targets	Yards	Avg.	TDs
1	-	-	-	-	-
2	5	7	45	9.0	0
3	1	2	29	29.0	0
4	5	12	74	14.8	1
6	4	8	121	30.2	2

According to NFL.com, Holmes is the 32nd-best fantasy wideout so far, but he's only owned in 5.3 percent of leagues on the site. While the general malaise of the Raiders offense somewhat limits Holmes' ceiling this year, he would be worth a flier for owners hoping to grab a wideout off the waiver wire. And he's unlikely to be available for much longer.

ESPN.com's Adam Caplan looked at the totality of Holmes' work with Oakland, and the numbers aren't too shabby, all things considered:

Sports Illustrated's Michael Beller is high on the 26-year-old, in particular honing in on Holmes' potential to beat defenses over the top:

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Holmes went to tiny Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Mich., but don't hold that against the third-year player. He's a big guy at 6-foot-4, 210 pounds, and he ran a 4.53 40-yard dash, so there's here enough speed to make him a downfield threat.

Carr's arm talent was unquestioned coming out of Fresno State, and that will only make Holmes better. You should be targeting him on the waiver wire this week. He’s a WR3 for the rest of the season.

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What's particularly encouraging for the Raiders wideout going forward is the relationship he's forging with Derek Carr. Holmes spoke about how important it is for him to know that his quarterback possesses enough trust to be willing to make tougher throws.

"You like to hear that he's going to have trust in you, especially on those opportunity balls where you might have to make a play over a defensive back," said Holmes, per Jerry McDonald of the San Jose Mercury News. "He trusts you to make plays, and it's really encouraging."

It's rather simple: The more Carr trusts Holmes, the more he'll throw his way. Maybe Holmes even surpasses James Jones as the No. 1 target in the Raiders passing game over the coming weeks.

The biggest immediate obstacle for Holmes, aside from his surroundings, is the Raiders' schedule over the next couple of months. They face a lot of good teams with very good defenses.

Below is how Oakland's next six opponents rank in passing yards allowed per game and defensive DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average) against the pass, per Football Outsiders.

Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

You shouldn't go completely overboard and add Holmes in the hopes that he becomes an elite fantasy wideout. As Beller wrote, though, he's at least worth presently slotting in as a WR3 and could grow into a WR2 by the time the season's over.

This late into the year, you can't exactly hope to find a top-end player at any position on the waiver wire. Adding somebody with Holmes' potential is about as good as it's going to get.