The Las Vegas Raiders find themselves bidding for the No. 1 overall pick in next year’s National Football League Draft after being mathematically eliminated from playoff contention.
It’s been a rough year for the Raiders and its fans. New head coach Pete Carroll had high aspirations of turning this rebuilding franchise into a contender in year one, but everything has seemingly gone wrong.
Las Vegas fired its offensive coordinator, Chip Kelly, and special teams coordinator Tom McMahon just a few weeks ago, and while the team has slightly improved in both phases, the team continues to lose.
The offense has been brutal to watch outside of Week 1, when the Raiders took out the No. 2 seeded New England Patriots. Quarterback Geno Smith has been lackluster in his first year as a Raider, so much so that he and Carroll could be one-and-done if the team doesn’t show improvement down the stretch.
Smith’s completion percentage is good; however he throws far too many interceptions, and his lack of ball security has hurt this team tremendously. When your quarterback is at the top of the list in turnovers, your team likely isn’t contending.
It doesn’t help that the Raiders took rookie running back Ashton Jeanty sixth overall in last year’s draft when they needed pretty much everything else before taking a home run swing on a running back within the top 10. Jeanty looks good when the offensive line holds up and creates space, but that’s rare and the offensive line is down several starters now.
Las Vegas' offense has struggled to score points and stay on the field, but the defense hasn't exactly helped the offense out either.
The Raiders are really missing some juice on the defensive side of the ball. They have one of the league’s best pass-rushers in Maxx Crosby, but he can’t do it all himself. Defensive tackle Jonah Laulu has been Crosby’s biggest help but has less than half the amount of sacks Crosby has, even with all of the double-teams he draws.
“The Raiders have a blitz rate of 26.0%, which is their second-lowest mark since Patrick Graham became the defensive coordinator in 2022, according to NFL Next Gen Stats,” ESPN’s Ryan McFadden wrote Tuesday. “Las Vegas also has a pressure rate of 27.4%, which ranks 30th in the NFL and is their lowest over the past four seasons. Outside of defensive end Maxx Crosby, the Raiders have struggled to attack opposing quarterbacks, which has been a key factor in the unit's struggles.”
If the Raiders can figure out a way to get more pressure on the quarterback, they stand a much better chance at stopping opposing offenses. While the Raiders need pretty much everything, adding another pass-rusher would be extremely beneficial to the defense and the team as a whole.
The Raiders will travel to Philadelphia to take on the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles in Week 15.