Official Las Vegas Raiders Thread

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LOCKED UP Kolton Miller, multi-year contract.
IN Keondore Coburn DT
IN Kawaan Baker WR
IN Albert Okwuegbunam TE
OUT Pat Conroy TE
OUT Kyle Philips WR

Coburn was surprisingly bad against the run but serviceable as a pass rusher.
Baker hasn't taken a snap since 2021, but he's been with the Patriots since then.
Okwegbunam is pretty big. He didn't take a snap last season.

 

Big blow - Lonnie Johnson Jr., who probably was in line for tons of snaps at Safety, suffered a broken fibula in practice.

 

TRADE
OUT Jakorian Bennett CB
IN Thomas Booker DT

 

Looking at the CBs at present.

Sam Webb was the 74th rated CB last season, and he was 90th against the pass.
Eric Stokes was 112th overall, and he was 94th against the pass.*
Jakorian Bennet was 134th overall, including 110th in coverage (gone).
Darnay Holmes was 164th overall, but he was 50th against the run.*
Jack Jones was 165th overall, though he was 10th in pass rush (gone).
Decamerion Richardson was 200th overall, and 200th against the pass.
DARIEN PORTER - ROOKIE.*

I had Bennett at a 48 Value last season, and I projected Porter at 50 for this season. It looks like Darien Porter is currently working with the starters.
Based on current depth chart, Stokes and Porter would start at CB with Holmes at Nickel. I wouldn't be surprised to see Webb (PFF) or Richardson (Value), who graded out as their best CBs, grab serious PT.

 

Raiders vs. Seahawks: Totally Overreacting

Players who helped their stock
DL Treven Ma'ae: blocked a PAT, showed the jets for a sack. Currently listed as "Other"/4th string, this was huge.
WR Shedrick Jackson: double move for the TD, catch to set up the final (missed) FG. Jackson isn't even on the depth chart.
RB Laube: pass receiving TD, great vision and run. A third-stringer but with 4 RBs ahead of him, Laube has to make a difference soon or else.
DB Pola-Mao: Big INT, near TD-saving tackle. He's going to start, but he could also establish himself as a defensive leader.
FS Hudson Clark: didn't give up, forced a fumble on a TD run. He's a third stringer.
MLB: Cody Lindberg: put the pressure on to force a rushed throw on a fourth down. A third stringer who could help secure some PT.
QB Miller: a little panic, beautiful pump and go to Jackson; big run on fourth&1 conversion.
WR Alex Bachman: Made a tackle on an INT, made a great catch, too. He's listed as one of the top four WRs, and this helped.
RB Zamir White: He's in a battle with Mostert for RB2. Contributing in the return game is a big deal to help his stock.
RB Chris Collier: kept the legs churning, picked up what was available; good running. He's among the top 4 RBs on the depth chart.

Players we should hold off on...
RB Jeanty: Really not what you wanted to see from Jeanty, but it's three carries in a preseason game. He did evade a tackle with a beautiful spin move.
QB AOC: way underthrew Thornton for an INT, happy feet on a second INT. Forgettable first half. Hit a nice TD to Laube, worked the middled of the field, and picked up a 4th-and-1 conversion. Overall numbers aren't good, but he turned it on in the second half.
RB Mostert: half-assed a pass protection rep; I'm worried about what he has left in terms of passion and juice.
DB Chris Smith: Blew contain

Players who hurt their stock
OL Parker Clements: chucked to the ground to allow a sack; looked bad
LB Roberts: Looked bad in pass coverage. This could be a Raiders problem in 2025
OLB Matt Jones: huge whiff on a tackle attempt, bad rep in pass coverage; he's third behind Jaylon Smith, who actually showed a bit of a motor in the game

 

O'Connell redeemed himself in the 2nd half. White and Laube did themselves good.

 

Yahoo! named winners and losers, too.
Raiders-Seahawks preseason winners and losers: Jamal Adams makes a statement

Winner: Jamal Adams, LB (highest graded Raider on D)
-This would be great news. Raiders need someone to step up at LB.

Loser: AOC
-Tale of two halves.

Winner: Kyu Blu Kelly DB
-He had a PBU.

Loser: Matt Jones LB
-Agreed.

Winner: Laube
-Agreed.

Loser: Charles Grant OL
-Not a surprise. I named him a low-floor player who has a lot of work to do in moving from FCS.

Winner: Shedrick Jackson
-Agreed.

Winner: Taki Lasi OLT (highest graded Raider on offense!)
-Would be awesome to see him step up.

 

Finally, SI.com looked at good, bad, and ugly
https://www.si.com/nfl/raiders/las-...-carroll-geno-smith-cam-miller-aidan-oconnell

The Good
QB Cam Miller 151.5 Passer Rating
DB Isaiah Pola-Mao
DT Thomas Booker
RB Laube

The Bad
WR Alex Bachman - suffered a non-contact injury
-I'll keep an eye on this. Looks like it was an ankle issue, but he's okay.

The Ugly
QB AOC 30.6 Passer Rating in the first half

 

IN Terrell Edmunds S
OUT Seth Williams WR (Injured)
-This is a great move. I don' think Williams was going to make the squad. He hadn't seen a target since 2021, and Shedrick Jackson stepped up in the preseason game 1.
Edmonds, by contrast, is a fascinating addition. I'd be surprised if he doesn't make the roster.
He's 28, has 101 games played, 79 starts, and posted five straight seasons of 5+ AV from 2018 to 2022. So far, so good. Since then, he has bounced around from Philly, Tennessee, Jacksonville, and Pittsburg. He has also fallen out of starting rotations. In the past two seasons, he has just 4 starts. Among safeties, he rated 40th overall, 97th in pass rush, 46th in run defense, and 38th in coverage.

2024 Ratings among Safeties
Chinn 50th Overall, 67th Pass Rush, 48th Run D, 48th Coverage; 81 Composite
Pola-Mao 134th Overall, 47th Pass Rush, 45th Run D, 146th Coverage; 71 Composite
Thomas Harper 15th Overall, 12th Pass Rush, 146th Run D, 15th Coverage; 57 Composite
Terrell Edmonds 40th Overall, 97th Pass Rush, 46th Run D, 38th Coverage; 42 Composite
Chris Smith II 24th Overall, 136th Pass Rush, 83rd Run D, 50th Coverage; 27 Composite
Hudson Clark - showed well in the first preseason game
Trey Taylor
Lonnie Johnson Jr. 148th Overall, 136th Pass Rush, 88th Run D, 142nd Coverage; 23 Composite - OUT WITH INJURY

 

...reminds me of how Al Davis used to sign vets.

 

Raiders Preseason Game #2
You're winning by 3 with 38 seconds left as the opponents set up for a FG - and you lose?

QB - backup drama
Smith is #1. Behind him, not much has changed. Tough game for AOC. Not bad. Just started with a big sack on third down when Putnam whiffed on a block. That second sack was tricky. I don't know if the WR (Bachman?) was supposed to chip someone, but the Raiders ended up being outmanned on both sides of the center. AOC didn't have enough time to make a read after his first man was covered. The INT was horrible. Bad read, bad throw. Cam Miller saw what NFL speed is like. Couldn't escape on a read option. Final drive: sack, scramble and sack, INT. Rookie stuff. I'm happy with AOC as backup, but I don't want to see Miller go off roster. He's an interesting prospect.

RB - serious backup drama
Jeanty started racking up YAC. Elite. RB White - twisting and churning for yardage. After him, they have White, Laube, Collier, Mostert, and McCormick all in play. Laube is probably the most versatile, Collier has had the best running preseason, and Mostert has been the best in the receiving game.

Receivers
Brock Bowers is so good. Great to see Mayer with a nice catch and so close to the TD. I didn't see much to stand out about any WRs, but Tommy Mellott had a nice kick return. He has speed and moves. I'm curious who our WR4 and WR5 are. I do think Bachman has a good shot at a roster spot.

OL
Apparently Meredith is our starting C. I saw only one bad play. Putnam allowed a sack.

DL
The D-line was making plays. Crosby two stuffs. Adam Butler in on a stuff. Tyree Wilson fought through a block to string out a play and force a stuff. DL Snowden - showed some dominance against the run. DE Andre Carter - big sack. Beat an OL and made a RB look like he wasn't there. Koonce looks quick.

LB
LB Michael Barrett cleans up for a sack. I think this crew is going to struggle in pass coverage.

DB
Chinn with an INT. Good to see. DB Smith looks solid against the run. Pola-Mao may have saved a TD with a "tackle" on a run up the gut. Terrell Edmunds with some solid coverage but still a complete pass. DB Clark Great PBU negated by someone else's penalty. He's pushing for playing time. Darnay Holmes forces a sack with a quick blitz. DB Trey Taylor PBU. CB darien porter has to do a better job attacking the run

Special Teams
Carlson hit everything.

 

Floor 7-10. Ceiling 10-7. We'll be more organized and competitive unlike last season.

 

Raiders issued their final preseason depth chart.

OFFENSE
Bech and Thornton both in the top 2 for their positions as rookies.
QB - no surprises
RB - McCormick and Laube on the outside, looking in. Not in the top four RBs.
WR - Mellott, Dorsett, and Callaway all outside the top 6. Shedrick Jackson is listed outside the top 9. That's crazy to me.
TE - No surprises, but Ismail is listed outside the top 4.
OL - Meredity/Glaze/Parham/Miller, then JPJ or Cappa. Laki Tasi is outside, looking in.

DEFENSE
Porter starting as a rookie.
DE - No surprises. No rookies in the top 4.
DT - No rookies in the top 4 here either. Ma'ae not in the top 6.
MLB - Eichenberg is listed at #2, Lindberg at 3.
OLB - Pratt and White to start, Adams and Smith as backups, and Matt Jones and Amari Gainer at third string.
CB Holmes, Porter*, Stokes starting. Vance, Richardson, and Woods backing up. A little surprised to see both Kelly and Webb listed as third stringers.
S - Chinn and Pola-Mao. No surprises. Hudson Clark listed as a third stringer. Edmunds at 4th string?

 

Gainer is good prospect but his hold up is not being a special teams player?

 

He played heavily on special teams last year. Very few snaps on D though.

 

AOC suffered a broken wrist. Out 6-8 weeks.

 

Roster cuts tomorrow (I think). Early thoughts...

QB (2) (eventually 3)
Smith looked sharp. Looks like a solid upgrade from what we had last season. AOC is still just a beat too slow and has another injury. Cam Miller isn’t ready to play, and that's fine for a late-round rookie, but it puts pressure on the squad with AOC’s injury.

Preseason Numbers
Smith 9/14, 96 yards, 1 TD, 108.0 Rating
AOC 36/57, 380 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT, 66.3 Rating
Miller 20/37, 203 yards, 1TD, 1 INT, 67.7 Rating (Took 7 sacks)

Roster Thoughts: Smith, AOC, Miller all make the roster. AOC will go to PUP or IR.

Running Backs (4)(6 total)
Jeanty is locked in. The coaching staff is apparently happy with White, but I don't think any of these guys have shown themselves well. Laube has the flexibility for run, pass, kicks, and punts. Hard for me to see Mostert making the roster.

Preseason Numbers
Collier 15-72
Mostert 13-52, 3-16 receiving
White 12-49, 1-3 receiving
Laube 11-46, 3-13 receiving; 3-83 KR, 3-31 PR
Jeanty 12-37, TD; 1-2 receiving
McCormick 8-23; 1-9 receiving
Roster Thoughts: Jeanty, White, Laube, McCormick/Mostert/Collier

Receivers (6)(12 total)
Meyers is locked in. I think Thornton, Tucker, and Bech are the next three. After that, it’s complicated. No on has much of a resume outside Dorsett. Bachman does some dirty work, and Mellott looks like a Taysom Hill-lite. Shedrick Jackson might be the most explosive among those on the bubble.
Bachman 4-51, 1 explosive play, 7 targets (only 6 YAC)
Bech 4-35, 7 targets (9 YAC)
Callaway 1-8, 2 targets (2 YAC)
Dorsett 4-36, 7 targets (0 YAC)
Ketron Jackson - no stats
Shedrick Jackson 8-133, TD, 3 explosive plays, 9 targets (41 YAC)
Johnson 5-42, 9 targets (16 YAC)
Mellott 2-1, 2 targets (0 YAC), 2-63 KR, 2-0 PR
Jakobi Meyers 1-4, 3 targets (3 YAC)
Thornton 3-43, 1 TD, 8 targets (5 YAC)
Tucker 2-21, 2 targets (2 YAC)

Roster Thoughts
Meyers, Thorton, and Bech are locks. Tucker, Mellott, Jackson, and Bachman are probably fighting for three spots.

Tight End (3)(15 total)
The Raiders have too many solid TEs. Bowers and Mayer are locks. After that, I think Carroll goes with a vet in Thomas, but Runyon is a good candidate for a practice squad, and I’m rooting for Ismail.
Ismail 4-42, 7 targets, 2 YAC
Mayer 2-20, 2 targets, 1 YAC
Okwuegbunam 3-24, 5 targets, 5 YAC
Runyon 6-74, 1 explosive play, 10 targets, 37 YAC
Shorter 3-22, 4 targets, 9 YAC
Thomas 4-51, 1 explosive plays, 5 targets, 22 YAC
Bowers 1-28, 1 explosive play, 2 targets, 2 YAC

Roster Thoughts
Bowers, Mayer – locked in. Thomas/Runyon fighting for TE3.

Offensive Line (9)(24 total)
Kolton Miller (89), Dylan Parham (81), DJ Glaze (79), Jackson Powers-Johnson (77), Jordan Meredith (76), Alex Cappa (72), Caleb Rogers (48*), Charles Grant (48*), Thayer Munford (44), Dalton Wagner, Jarrod Hufford (R), Will Putnam, Gottlieb Ayedze, Parker Clements.

Roster Thoughts:
Locks (6): Miller, Parham, Glaze, JPJ, Meredith, Cappa
Good Bets (2-3): Rogers (R), Grant (R), Munford
Long Shots (0-1): Putnam, Clements, Wagner, Tasi

 

Well, this isn't good.

Source - Raiders' Jakobi Meyers, seeking extension, requests trade - ESPN