The Las Vegas Raiders went between two quarterbacks all season as they started the year with Aidan O’Connell and then went to Gardner Minshew and then Gardner broke his collarbone and is out for the rest of the season. Aidan O’Connell will be the starter for the Raiders for their last 6 games. Aidan O’Connell is fresh off the IR as well as he injured his thumb earlier in the season. The Raiders let running back Josh Jacobs go in the offseason and they signed Alexander Mattison from the Minnesota Vikings to be the starter. This hasn’t gone as well as they would’ve hoped. In the 10 games Mattison has played he only has 320 yards and 3 touchdowns.
This equates to only 32 yards a game. The Raiders offense ranks as the 24th-ranked total offense in the league but dead last in the rushing offense. The offensive line has also had its struggles, has given up the 6th most sacks this season, and constantly ranks toward the bottom of PFF rankings. There are a few bright spots but not enough to solve the offensive woes.
Maxx Crosby is one of the league’s best edge rushers. He is having a down season as far as numbers are concerned and he still has 7.5 sacks on the season. The defense as a unit is middle of the league as they rank 14th but the part that is hurting the team is that they are 29th ranked when it comes to scoring defense. Despite Crosby’s 7.5 sacks on the season the Raiders still rank 26th in the number of sacks on the season as a team. They also only have 5 interceptions on the year, ranking 27th in the league.
Antonio Pierce has had a challenging first full year on the job. Pierce took over last season as an interim head coach and the leaders of the team went to bat for him to get that interim tag removed. It is always tough to learn on the job, but he is in the same division with the two-time reigning champion Kansas City Chiefs. The other two coaches in the division are Super Bowl champion Sean Payton who is with the Broncos and college champion Head Coach, and Super Bowl runner-up Jim Harbaugh. I wouldn’t judge the job that he is doing until at least after next season. Hoping he improves his team’s record.
What Do They Need?
Judging from the season their quarterbacks have had they can look to get in the mix with quarterbacks Cam Ward of Miami and Shedeur Sanders of Colorado. If those two guys are gone by the time the Raiders are on the clock, I think they can choose to have the best offensive tackle prospect. LSU’s Will Campbell could solidify the offensive line and would be a good pickup for them. Or even if the quarterbacks are there if they have a shot at the number one pick or if they can move up to get him Heisman hopeful Travis Hunter is not a bad pick being that they need secondary help as well. Also, Michigan cornerback standout Will Johnson could be a first-round option for them.
In the second round, they could also have their picks of quarterbacks as either Carson Beck from out of Georgia or Quinn Ewers from Texas could be available. They might also have their picks out of Tacario Davis out of Arizona or Denzel Burke out of Ohio State to play corner for them in the second day of the draft.
At some point, they will need to address running back in this draft as Mattison and Zamir White both have not generated the ground game the Raiders thought they were getting.
Las Vegas has a climb to get to the old Raider folklore of yesteryear. But the Black Hole has moved with the team to Las Vegas in hopes of getting a glimmer of that again. I think they got the head coach to lead them forward.