Allegiant Stadium opens for the fifth time for the Raiders, who are searching for improvement. Talent is a must-have in a division dominated by the Chiefs and surrounded by the Chargers and Broncos. The Raiders’ 2023 campaign ended with an 8-9 record. It wasn’t enjoyable, but there was hope. The Raiders fired head coach Josh McDaniels after a week eight loss. Linebackers coach Antonio Pierce was then named interim coach. After this hiring, the Raiders won five of their last nine games, including a win against the Chiefs in Arrowhead, and kept Pierce as HC going into 2024.
2024 Offseason:
The Raiders’ offseason additions weren’t many, but they made them count, signing names like DT Christian Wilkins with a monster 4-year $110M contract, QB Gardner Minshew for 2 years and $25M, and RB Alexander Mattison for a year and $2M. But there were many departures, including WR Hunter Renfrow, TE Austin Hooper, QB Jimmy Garoppolo, and the most prominent name, RB Josh Jacobs. And with a midseason trade that sent away WR DaVante Adams, the Raiders are a very raw team in terms of talent.
Free agency spending was $153.5M (7th overall), $25.8M in extensions (31st overall), $54.3M in the draft (16th overall), and $48.2M in undrafted talent (9th overall). With these totals, the Raiders spent $282.1M in the offseason (26th overall).
The Draft:
The Raiders held the 13th overall pick in the draft and decided to add more skill to their offense with this pick. Picking up the hyped tight end out of Georgia, Brock Bowers. Including Bowers, the Raiders picked up seven additional players from the draft and 17 undrafted free agents. Out of the 25 players, only five played 200+ snaps this year. The previously mentioned Bowers, OT DJ Glaze (Maryland, 3rd RD), OG Jackson Powers-Johnson (Oregon, 2nd RD), CB Decamerion Richardson (Mississippi State, 4th RD), and DT Jonah Laulu, who was picked up after being waived by the Colts (Oklahoma, 7th RD).
2024 Rookie Stats-
DJ Glaze – 998 snaps, 3 sacks, 10 QB hits, 38 hurries, 51 pressures allowed
Jackson Powers-Johnson – 956 snaps, 2 sacks, 3 QB hits, 18 hurries, 23 pressures allowed
Brock Bowers – 956 snaps, 112 rec, 1194 receiving yards, 5 receiving TDs
Decamerion Richardson – 559 snaps, 46 total tackles, 3 pass defenses
Jonah Laulu – 474 snaps, 35 total tackles, 1 sack, 3 pass defenses
Expectations:
There isn’t much to expect from the Raiders this year. Expectations are low with a bare-bones roster, few playmakers, a new coach, and GM, and the other teams in the division are getting better. Their odds of making the Super Bowl are tied for the fourth lowest in the league at +15000 odds, and their over-under win record is tied for third lowest at 6.5. Losing playmakers and their 15th new coach since the turn of the millennium.
2024 Season:
The season includes six matchups against their division in the AFC West, the AFC North, the NFC South, and the Rams, Dolphins, and Jaguars. Based on projected win totals, the Raiders have the 11th-hardest schedule in the league. Will the Raiders bet on themselves in Las Vegas and hit the jackpot, or will they have their worst season since 2018? Guess what happened.
Team Offensive Stats-
5154 total offensive yards, 303.1 yards per game – 27th overall
3797 total passing yards, 223.3 YPG – 13th overall
1357 total rushing yards, 79.8 YPG – 32nd overall
309 total points scored, 18.1 points per game- 29th overall
The stats here are interesting. It is a team with QBs like Gardner Minshew, Aidan O’Connell, and Desmond Ridder in a top 13 position for passing yards. Well, they did have 635 total passing attempts, which is the fourth-highest in the league. And only 380 total rushing attempts, the second-lowest in the league. So even a broken clock is right twice a day. And the fact that they had a new quarterback for almost every game kept them fresh for their next game, so that could have had something to do with it. Who knows? But the rushing stats don’t surprise anyone at all. Moving on from Josh Jacobs hurt the team, and it shows. The highest rusher got 420 total rushing yards, 3.6 yards per attempt (lowest in the league), 78 rushing first downs (lowest in the league), and ten total rushing TDs (5th lowest in the league). We’re far from the days of Bo Jackson. The conversions weren’t the best, with 78 third-down conversions (23rd) and 22 red zone TDs (29th). At least in fourth-down conversions, the Raiders had 14 (tied for 14th in the league). And the offensive line was questionable, too. 50 sacks allowed (tied for 7th highest in the league). High pressure and struggling against the blitz. But they do have talent on the line. Names like Kolton Miller and DJ Glaze can be good, but nothing else.
Offensive Leaders Stats-
Gardner Minshew – 203/306, 2013 passing yards, 9 passing TDs, 10 int.
Alexander Mattison – 132 carries, 420 rushing yards, 4 rushing TDs
Brock Bowers – 112 rec, 1194 receiving yards, 5 receiving TDs
It’s important to note that the Raiders split many of their offensive stats, with Aidan O’Connell getting action at QB, Ameer Abdullah getting action on the ground, and Jakobi Meyers being the #1 WR. If the Raiders offense gets a solid QB to sling it, the receiving and tight end room will thrive.
Team Defensive Stats-
5663 total yards allowed, 333.1 YPG – 15th overall
3676 total passing yards allowed, 216.2 YPG – 15th overall
1987 total rushing yards allowed, 116.8 YPG – 13th overall
434 total points allowed, 25.5 PPG – 26th overall
It’s a very average defense. The Raiders have talent throughout the defense and the potential to be truly elite. Players like Maxx Crosby, Robert Spillane, and Tre’von Moehrig make this defense talented. But the points allowed bring them down, and the 38 total sacks, 88 third-downs allowed, and 35 red zone TDs allowed (22nd overall) make them a little below average. But the defense has allowed only ten fourth-down conversions (tied for fifth overall). The defense makes the Raiders more credible, and it’s something they can build on.
Defensive Leaders Stats-
Robert Spillane – 158 total tackles
Maxx Crosby – 7.5 sacks
Jonathan Jones – 3 int.
The Raiders’ defense is in a better situation than most teams. They can rebuild it. Resigning Robert Spillane and Tre’von Moehrig will help. The defensive line is solid with Maxx Crosby, Chrisitan Wilkins, and Tyree Wilson. But more depth in the linebacker room will aid a good defense, and moving on from Divine Deablo might be inevitable after this year. In the secondary, a rehaul. Keeping Moehrig and adding more talent in corners and safeties.
Final Grade: D
Positives-
The Raiders already have the weapons for a good passing offense. Brock Bowers is elite and arguably the best tight end from his first season. Jakobi Meyers is a solid option at receiver, but another good receiver is necessary to keep things rolling. The defense is solid, too, but it needs more pieces to be a good unit. Their needs include quarterback, running back, wide receivers, offensive guards, centers, linebackers, and secondary. The good news is that the Raiders have A LOT of cap space to add talent. $95.6M (2nd highest in the league) is a tremendous amount to have in a rebuilding year, and plenty of talent can be added. And with the sixth overall pick in the draft, the Raiders can add a key piece to their team. RB Ashton Jeanty, CB Will Johnson, or WR Luther Burden III are all solid options. And with nine additional picks, much-needed talent and depth can be added.
Negatives-
The issue with being so far from the top three is that the rookie QB race is already over. Two quarterbacks are first-round worthy this year, and they’ll likely be gone by the end of the three overall picks. The Raiders can add more weapons, but who will throw? Aidan O’Connell will likely be the answer. And that excites few and makes the majority groan. Aidan can be good, but he’s also inconsistent. Already 26 and not many veterans, it’ll be challenging for the former Purdue Boilermaker to be the QB needed for the Raiders. If the plan is to ride with him, the Raiders need as much talent as possible to help with his issues. If anything else, maybe the Raiders make a trade, for the QB free agent market isn’t too solid. Or the Raiders may select one of the mid-round QBs, for they have two third-round picks. Whatever the decision, the Raiders will have many questions about the quarterback position going into the 2025 campaign. But another big move kicked off 2025: firing HC Antonio Pierce. Questionable game decisions, hiring Luke Getsy, and being winless against the AFC West for the first time since 2006 are some of the more significant reasons for his axing. He kept his locker room happy, but nothing much from there. And after missing out on Ben Johnson, the head coach search continues.
