The Las Vegas Raiders are doing a nice job of putting the parts and pieces together as they upgrade their roster.
The Las Vegas Raiders are making a lot of positive moves, and they’re being noticed. The latest example of this comes from Ted Nguyen of The Athletic, who ranked the Raiders first among rebuilding teams when it comes to having a successful offseason.
The big reason, of course, is that the Raiders have found their franchise quarterback in Fernando Mendoza. But they also signed veteran Kirk Cousins, which means they won’t have to throw Mendoza to the wolves in Week 1 with a roster that’s still very much in the process of being rebuilt.
There’s more, though. As Nguyen put it, GM John Spytek “is just hitting singles, but he’s hitting a lot of them, and they’re adding up.” His first base hit, the writer added, was adding the best play caller in the hiring cycle in new coach Klint Kubiak.
After that they went on a binge in free agency, signing multiple younger players to upgrade they defense as those players hit their second contracts. The big names on defense were linebackers Nakobe Dean and Quay Walker, but Kubiak also got the center he wanted in Tyler Linderbaum, who will provide both performance and leadership as the Raiders continue to rebuild their offensive line.
Don’t sleep on the Raiders’ draft beyond Mendoza, either. Draft expert Dane Brugler had Vegas ranked third in his post-draft pecking order, and he cited new cornerback Treydan Stokes as a perfect fit. The Raiders have added multiple ball-hawking secondary players to upgrade a unit that often struggled mightily in coverage, and that’s a very underrated part of this rebuild.
Offensively, Brugler and Nguyen also liked running back Mike Washington Jr. in the fourth round, saying he can be an explosive option to replace Ashton Jeanty occasionally and keep Jeanty’s workload down.
The one area the Raiders didn’t upgrade in the draft was wide receiver, and they’ve taken some heat for that. According to Nguyen, though, the Raiders believe tight end Brock Bowers will be a target funnel, and getting him back on track would help receivers Tre Tucker and new free-agent signing Jalen Nailor take their respective games to the next level.
Las Vegas also wants to give last year’s second-round pick, Jack Bech, a chance to develop, as he got lost in the shuffle that came with a lost season of Geno Smith at quarterback.
It’s a good foundation, and it does set the Raiders up for long-term success. This is the time of year for unbridled optimism, and the Raiders have done a good job of supplying that for their beleaguered fan base.