The Las Vegas Raiders are starting over this season, and this ranking reveals the lack of talent on the roster.
The Las Vegas Raiders are facing a challenging season this year, to say the least. They’re doing a complete rebuild, and much of what we saw in the preseason revealed just how difficult this process is going to be. There’s a not a lot of talent on the roster, as Sam Warren of The Athletic showed when he ranked his top five Raiders
1 Brock Bowers, TE
Yup, he’s out already, which is raising questions about just how quickly this whole roster rebuild thing could go sideways. Coach Klint Kubiak has reportedly based most of his offensive concepts around featuring Bowers and getting him out in space, and now he won’t be able to do that for at least “a game or two.” Instead he’s left with Michael Mayer, who’s serviceable at best, and things could get ugly on Sunday when the Miami Dolphins stack the box and dare the Raiders to throw over the top.
2 Maxx Crosby, Edge
The most remarkable thing about Crosby at the moment is that he’s still with the Raiders. According to Warren, though, Crosby was his old disruptive self in practice, and presumably that wasn’t just about testing the validity of quarterback Kirk Cousins’ non-contact jersey. The big question now is whether Crosby will be traded at the deadline if things go completely south in September and October.
3 Tyler Linderbaum, C
It’s a shame that the Raiders wound up bidding against themselves to reset the center market, but at least they got their man in Linderbaum. According to Warren, he’s done what he was brought in to do, as he’s “brought cohesion to the offensive front and delivered some striking blocks in the run game.” The big news would be if the Raiders actually have a run game on Sunday, especially given that the solid preseason showings there are now officially meaningless.
4 Quay Walker, LB
We’ve been wondering how the Raiders are going to use their two new linebackers, and Warren has him as a fun player to watch in the roles defensive coordinator Rob Leonard is giving him. Walker is being moved around and asked to do different things, which feels like a solid plan given the linebacker’s untapped potential.
5 Ashton Jeanty, RB
Speaking of untapped potential, that would be Jeanty, at least until he sustained the serious ankle sprain after the preseason games ended. He’s back on track to play on Sunday, but no one knows how explosive he’ll be given the seriousness of this injury.
