The Raiders have officially made their move from Oakland to Las Vegas. Last season, the Raiders managed to finish 7-9 in Jon Gruden’s second year as head coach, following a 3-13 season in 2018.
The Raiders got busy this offseason, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Let’s look at the additions to the Raiders roster:
Key Additions: LB Cory Littleton, LB Nick Kwiatkoski, LB Raekwon McMillan, DT Maliek Collins, CB Prince Amukamara, DB Damarious Randall, QB Marcus Mariota, TE Jason Witten, and S Jeff Heath
Key Departures: LB Tahir Whitehead, CB Daryl Worley, and S Karl Joseph
With much needed additions made to the defense, let’s take a look at the starters for the Raiders this season.
Offensive Starters:
- QB: Derek Carr
- RB: Josh Jacobs
- WR: Henry Rugs III
- WR: Hunter Renfrow
- WR: Bryan Edwards
- TE: Darren Waller
- LT: Kolton Miller
- LG: Richie Incognito
- C: Rodney Hudson
- RG: Gabe Jackson
- RT: Trent Brown
Defensive/ Special Teams Starters:
- LDE: Clelin Ferrell
- NT: Johnathon Hankins
- DT: Maliek Collins
- RDE: Maxx Crosby
- WLB: Cory Littleton
- MLB: Nick Kwiatkowski
- SLB: Nicholas Morrow
- CB: Damon Arnette
- CB: Trayvon Mullen
- CB: Lamarcus Joyner
- FS: Erik Harris
- SS: Johnathon Abram
- K: Daniel Carlson
- P: AJ Cole
Strongest Position: Linebacker
The Raiders linebacker position got tremendously better this offseason. They added Cory Littleton, who is one of the league’s best coverage linebackers. Littleton recorded a career-high 134 tackles, along with nine passes defensed and two interceptions last season with the Rams. The Raiders also signed former Bears linebacker, Nick Kwiatkoski. Last year, he recorded career-highs in tackles (78) and sacks (3). The Raiders acquired Raekwon McMillian from the Dolphins last week to add more depth to the position. The linebacker position is the strongest aspect of their defense and will be very productive this year.
Weakest Position: Wide Receiver
The Raiders wide receiver unit suffered a huge blow with the loss of Tyrell Williams due to a shoulder injury. His injury leaves first-round draft pick, Henry Ruggs II, as the No. 1 option for Carr at receiver. This is a huge task for Ruggs as Gruden wants him to play the role that Antonio Brown would’ve played. That is too much pressure on a rookie and I think that he won’t live up to the role that is expected from his head coach. Behind Ruggs is Hunter Renfrow, who is more of a slot receiver that will be posted on the outside. Renfrow is most successful in the slot and the Raiders played him there last year and he was successful. The Raiders did sign Nelson Agholor this offseason, but he is listed as the backup to Renfrow, leaving rookie Bryan Edwards as the No. 3 receiver. The Raiders are thin at receiver and it is evident with two rookies as starters without a developed top option.
The Raiders will be about the same this year with a much improved defense. However, the offense is going to struggle without an established top option, meaning Carr will have to rely on tight end Darren Waller, who teams will learn to focus on. I don’t expect the Raiders to be competing for the playoffs when it comes to the home stretch of the regular season.
