Las Vegas Raiders fans, starved for decades for wins much less a coherent, thought-out plan, were excited for free agency. Tom Brady, Pete Carroll and John Spytek had the second-most salary-cap space in the league at $95.3 million and Carroll, 73, said that his new team was going for it now.
A couple of weeks later, Raiders fans are still looking at their plates for more.
While the trade for Geno Smith answered their need for a quarterback, the Raiders only spent an estimated $51 million in free agency and lost five defensive starters. There are still some big holes on the roster on both sides of the ball, and of the six new players signed in free agency, only one can be considered a possible upgrade from the guy he is replacing. And even that one may be a stretch.
What happened?
Three things.
The Raiders didn’t feel like it was a good free-agent class, which was common around the league, and they weren’t willing to pay an inflated price for marginal difference-makers. They decided to take a measured approach after trading for Smith and extending Maxx Crosby’s contract, making him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history for a couple of days. And finally, according to people in the building, they started playing the compensatory-pick game. The Raiders should have a couple of extra draft picks in the fourth and fifth rounds next year from all the players they lost.
Carroll did hint a few times when he was hired that a turnaround from a 4-13 record may be a two-year process. And two of the three playoff teams in the AFC West clearly got better over the last two weeks.
The Raiders still need starters at running back, receiver, linebacker and cornerback and the offensive line could probably use another look-over, but they have plenty of time. The NFL Draft is next month and the lights are still on at the free agency bar. While most people around the league have former Seattle Seahawks receiver Tyler Lockett penciled in (some used a pen) for a reunion with Carroll, there are three other veteran receivers available — Stefon Diggs, Amari Cooper and Keenan Allen — who could still provide some bang for a reduced buck.
Let’s take a look at the Raiders depth chart, five and a half months before the season opener, as we start to get ready for the upcoming draft:
Quarterback
Starter: Geno Smith
Depth: Aidan O’Connell, Carter Bradley
It’s been quiet in Las Vegas the last week but the Raiders should finally have that news conference for Smith here soon, and a contract extension as well. (A $16 million roster bonus hit on Sunday and that amount will be accounted for as part of the existing money in an extension.) The Seahawks traded him when Smith said he wanted $45 million annually, and they wound up with a third-round pick and free agent Sam Darnold at more than $10 million less. The Raiders had mixed feelings on Darnold, and Carroll and Smith are tight from their days together in Seattle. Smith set single-season franchise records with a 70.4 percent completion percentage, 407 completions and 4,320 passing yards last season and is a huge upgrade over Gardner Minshew. O’Connell is a solid backup, and the expectation is that the Raiders draft a quarterback to compete with him and learn from Smith.
Running back
Starter: Raheem Mostert
Depth: Sincere McCormick, Zamir White, Dylan Laube, Chris Collier, Isaiah Spiller
Mostert brings speed, experience and a nose for the end zone — he had 21 touchdowns for the Miami Dolphins in 2023 — and ideally will be the team’s No. 2 running back. While Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty is tempting at the Raiders’ No. 6 draft slot, it’s a very deep running back class and they should be able to find a starter in the second or third round. Keep your eye on TreVeyon Henderson, who played for new offensive coordinator Chip Kelly at Ohio State and is dangerous running and catching the ball. McCormick and former starter White become nice depth pieces.
Receivers
Starters: Jakobi Meyers, Kyle Philips, Tre Tucker
Depth: Ramel Keyton, Kristian Wilkerson, Alex Bachman, Tyreik McAllister, DJ Turner, Jeff Foreman, Shedrick Jackson
Philips, who played at UCLA for Kelly, has 23 career catches and his name up there on the top line should get your attention regarding the size of the need here. Especially if you consider Meyers a No. 2 receiver more than a No. 1. Unlike at running back, this is not a very deep draft at receiver, which makes adding a veteran even more important.
Tight end
Starter: Brock Bowers
Depth: Michael Mayer, Justin Shorter
Bowers is the Raiders’ real No. 1 receiver, and it’s even more amazing that he set all those records last season as a rookie considering how bad Minshew was for 10 games. Mayer will have to gain the new staff’s trust after a scattered second season in which he missed six games for personal reasons. He is a talented receiver, but the Raiders will need to add a blocking tight end as veteran Harrison Bryant left for the Philadelphia Eagles.
While the Raiders could use another top receiving option, tight end Brock Bowers really is their No. 1 receiver. (Kirby Lee / Imagn Images)
Offensive line
Starters: LT Kolton Miller, LG Alex Cappa, C Jackson Powers-Johnson, RG Dylan Parham, RT DJ Glaze
Depth: Dalton Wagner, Jordan Meredith, Will Putnam, Thayer Munford Jr., Gottlieb Ayedze
Spytek brought in a familiar face from his days with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Cappa, who struggled with the Cincinnati Bengals last season. The 30-year-old veteran will compete with Parham and Meredith for two starting spots, as the former practice squadder Meredith was a nice story for the Raiders last year, starting eight games and holding his own amid the all the losing. Carroll said some nice things about Glaze, now entering his second year, but ideally the Raiders add someone to compete with him.
Edge rushers
Starters: Maxx Crosby, Malcolm Koonce
Depth: Tyree Wilson, Charles Snowden, David Agoha, Andre Carter II, Ovie Oghoufo
Bringing back Koonce for one year for $12 million made a lot of sense, as the market was tentative about the young pass rusher coming off knee surgery. Now, he is back with Crosby on a prove-it deal, and they were an impressive duo of edge rushers at the end of the 2023 season. The signing also takes more pressure off 2023 first-round pick Wilson, a still-raw physical specimen who has made some strides little by little and can move inside on passing downs. K’Lavon Chaisson played well down the stretch but signed with the New England Patriots.
Interior defensive line
Starters: Christian Wilkins, Adam Butler
Depth: Jonah Laulu, Tyler Manoa
The Raiders also get Wilkins back from injury — they were 2-3 before he broke his foot and 2-10 after — and re-signed Butler, a former teammate of Brady’s, so they are quite formidable up front. While we like Laulu’s upside, adding another dancing bear in the draft would make this one of the top defensive lines in the league.
Linebacker
Starters: Elandon Roberts, Amari Burney
Depth: Tommy Eichenberg, Amari Gainer, Luke Masterson, Kana’i Mauga, Brandon Smith, Jackson Mitchell
Robert Spillane was a big loss. Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham said having Spillane was like having an extension of him on the field. But apparently Patriots coach Mike Vrabel felt the same way and backed up the Brink’s truck at Spillane’s house. The green dot moves to Roberts, 30, who was a two-down starter in Pittsburgh and brings a lot of juice and leadership. Burney was a converted safety in college who was buried on the Raiders depth chart before he started to get some run in the last five games. The Raiders had Patriots restricted free agent Christian Elliss in for a visit Monday, and if they don’t give him an offer sheet, they will sign or draft someone else to compete for a starting spot. Eichenberg lost his biggest fan in the building in fired coach Antonio Pierce, but there is definitely an opening for a gritty, smart linebacker that Pierce raved about.
Cornerback
Starters: Jakorian Bennett, Jack Jones, Decamerion Richardson
Depth: Eric Stokes, Darnay Holmes, M.J. Devonshire, Sam Webb, Kyu Blu Kelly
Carroll knows his defensive backs, and you have to figure he has big plans for Stokes, a 2021 first-round pick who had trouble staying healthy in Green Bay (he played in 45 of 68 games). The Raiders could use another corner, as the mercurial Jones left his best football behind at training camp last year and may be a bit undersized for Carroll’s taste. Richardson has the size and Bennett played well before his shoulder injury, but this group is not worrying Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert or Bo Nix.
Safety
Starters: Jeremy Chinn, Isaiah Pola-Mao
Depth: Lonnie Johnson Jr., Chris Smith II, Thomas Harper, Trey Taylor
Ideally, teams like to reward their own draft picks who get better every year, but that was out the window when the Carolina Panthers made Tre’von Moehrig the fifth-highest-paid safety in the league. Chinn is more physical and lined up at safety, linebacker and cornerback for the Washington Commanders. If some fans want to argue that he is a better fit than Moehrig, that’s fine. Pola-Mao gets a promotion and gives the Raiders three big safeties, if you include new addition Johnson, who only played 300 defensive snaps in the last three seasons. It seems like a center fielder type would be nice, but there are more pressing needs.
Specialists
Starters: PK Daniel Carlson, P AJ Cole, LS Jacob Bobenmoyer
Carlson and Cole are two of the best in the business.
Returner
Starter: Tre Tucker
Ameer Abdullah hasn’t been re-signed so the speedy slot receiver is down for these duties as of this second.
