As the losses pile up, the buzzword around the Las Vegas Raiders the last couple of weeks has been communication.
The offensive linemen need to speak more loudly to each other. The defensive backs can’t just drop coverage on one receiver to follow another one, especially if the first one is strolling toward the end zone.
Here’s another buzzword — talent. As in, the 2-8 Raiders don’t have as much talent as their opponents, a point made abundantly clear during this six-game losing streak, thanks to a bad job of roster-building the last couple of years.
The failings of the Jon Gruden/Mike Mayock regime, aka how they essentially wasted six first-round picks in three years, are well documented. (Josh Jacobs was a good pick, but the Raiders let the free-agent running back leave for Green Bay this spring.)
But the Raiders have very little to show for 2022 and 2023 draft classes of former general manager Dave Ziegler, not to mention the first- and second-round picks they gave up for Davante Adams. And let’s not even get started on the 2022 free-agent signing of Chandler Jones.
It seems like first-year GM Tom Telesco was aware of the roster’s shortcomings, and his longer-range approach to team building explains why he didn’t go all in this past offseason. The team had one big free-agent signing — defensive tackle Christian Wilkins — as Telesco turned one of the league’s oldest rosters (29th youngest in 2023) into a much younger one (12th youngest in 2024).
Telesco did give Gardner Minshew II $15 million guaranteed to be the latest Band-Aid quarterback … and there has been a lot of blood, as Minshew is second in the league in turnovers. So, no gold star for Telesco despite what appears to be a nice draft class.
Coach Antonio Pierce fired three offensive assistants during the bye week, so obviously there is some pressure from above to win (at least every now and then). But when he, Telesco and owner Mark Davis meet up after the season to discuss Pierce’s future — maybe Tom Brady will Zoom in, too — there has to be a serious discussion about how the roster was so thin it couldn’t weather all the injuries on defense or Adams’ trade to the Jets.
Let’s look at the roster position-by-position to see where it all went wrong:
Quarterback
Ziegler gave quarterback Derek Carr, tight end Darren Waller and receiver Hunter Renfrow contract extensions, and coach Josh McDaniels quickly tired of them all. The worst part is that the Raiders gave Carr a no-trade clause and had to cut him instead of getting something in return via trade. Then last year, Ziegler and McDaniels brought in their fellow former Patriot, Jimmy Garoppolo, after their other former Patriot, Brady, decided to retire for good.
Garoppolo made it to the end of last season, unlike Ziegler and McDaniels, but backed up rookie Aidan O’Connell for the last nine games. The Raiders would have liked O’Connell to beat out Minshew in training camp, but that didn’t happen. O’Connell did replace a benched Minshew and started in Weeks 6 and 7 before breaking his thumb. He is expected back in a week or two.
The Raiders were unable to trade up for one of the several quarterbacks they liked in the draft this year and will be looking for their savior again next spring.
Running back
The Raiders let Jacobs walk because that’s what you’re supposed to do with veteran running backs, but he has been sorely missed as both Zamir White and free-agent signing Alexander Mattison have underachieved. Rookie Dylan Laube fumbled on his only touch. Maybe it’s time to give 10-year vet Ameer Abdullah or practice-squad back Sincere McCormick a shot.
Ameer Abdullah punches it in!#LVvsMIA | 📺 @paramountplus pic.twitter.com/9kU4Q8NC80
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) November 17, 2024
White was a fourth-round pick in 2022, and the Raiders have almost nothing of value from that class. Beyond White, Dylan Parham is a solid starter at guard, while fourth-round pick Neil Farrell Jr. is a backup defensive lineman for the Chiefs, Thayer Munford is a backup tackle and defensive tackle Matthew Butler is on the practice squad.
Wide receiver
Adams never got over the nightmares of Garoppolo missing him by 10 yards on throws and never really gave Minshew a shot. His dreams finally came true as he was reunited with Aaron Rodgers in New York, but some romances are apparently better when they’re long distance. The Jets are 1-4 with Adams.
The Raiders are 1-6 without Adams, as there is a glaring lack of experienced, reliable receivers after Jakobi Meyers. Minshew has been unable to get the ball deep to second-year speedster Tre Tucker, who has only cracked 30 yards receiving once in the last six games. Tucker was a third-round pick last year, so that’s not great. DJ Turner and rookie Ramel Keyton round out the roster, and though Telesco signed former Charger Jalen Guyton back in May, the veteran never got off the practice squad before being released on Monday. The cupboard is pretty bare.
Tight end
Brock Bowers is already the best tight end in the league not named George Kittle or Travis Kelce, and we may just be being respectful to his elders there. Imagine what the yards-after-catch specialist will do with an accurate, strong-armed quarterback.
Brockin' and Rollin!#LVvsMIA | 📺 @paramountplus pic.twitter.com/tUq5NzKADV
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) November 17, 2024
Michael Mayer was a second-round pick last year, but he just returned to the team last week after dealing with some personal issues. So, an incomplete grade for him, but this duo should be a strength for years to come.
Offensive line
To be fair, Gruden and Mayock did hit on a couple of picks. But one of them, 2020 fourth-rounder John Simpson, didn’t click with Ziegler and McDaniels and became a good player elsewhere. Gruden and Mayock whiffed on 2021 first-rounder Alex Leatherwood, and the Raiders didn’t draft another offensive lineman early until this year.
Telesco nabbed Jackson Powers-Johnson in the second round, and he has moved from guard — and may be playing injured center Andre James out of a job. The Raiders also took right tackle DJ Glaze in the third round, and he has shown some promise. There might be some hope for this unit.
Defensive line
Tyree Wilson had a sack against the Dolphins last week, but the fact that the team lost Malcolm Koonce to injury and still doesn’t start Wilson — the seventh overall pick in 2023 — speaks volumes. The speed and power he showed in college have yet to translate to this level as he has trouble getting off the ball and blocks. While some compare him to 2019 bust Clelin Ferrell, Wilson has a ways to go to reach that level.
That 2023 draft class has only produced two full-time starters in Tucker and cornerback Jakorian Bennett, though Mayer could also count as the Raiders often go with two tight ends. Third-round pick Byron Young was cut after training camp this year — the defensive tackle never looked the part.
Linebackers
Robert Spillane was a nice signing by Ziegler two years ago, a tough, young, downhill player who has worked hard to improve his pass-coverage skills and become a leader. His contract is up, but it’s hard to imagine the Raiders not making his re-signing a priority. Divine Deablo was a third-round pick in 2021, and he is a great athlete who is still a little inconsistent.
Pierce is high on rookie Tommy Eichenberg, but he is still pretty raw and his opportunity to be anything more than a special-teamer will have to wait until next year. Undrafted rookie Amari Gainer showed some nice coverage skills in the preseason — there might be something there.
Defensive backs
Gruden and Mayock whiffed on cornerback Damon Arnette in 2020 and fourth-round safety Tyree Gillespie in 2021, but Tre’von Moehrig has improved each year after being drafted in the second round in 2021. (As bad as the Leatherwood pick was, the Raiders did get four defensive starters in that draft: Moehrig, Koonce, Deablo and cornerback Nate Hobbs.)
Give Ziegler credit for the fourth-round selection of Bennett last year. He has become a steady starter with a nose for pass breakups on third down. Both he and starter Jack Jones left Sunday’s game with injuries, so the Raiders are force-feeding fourth-round pick Decamerion Richardson. He needs to get stronger and was victimized last week by the dreaded communication bug, but he is quick and aggressive and will learn the hard way, which could be good in the long run.
The Raiders lost veteran safety Marcus Epps to a knee injury, but third-year player Isaiah Pola-Mao has not been bad in his stead. Like Eichenberg, it seems unlikely draft picks Trey Taylor (safety) or MJ Devonshire (cornerback) will touch the field on defense this year.
