The Las Vegas Raiders find themselves with few changes this year, keeping head coach Antonio Pierce while bringing in Christian Wilkins from Miami on the defensive end.  They also decided to draft in the first round, TE Brock Bowers out of Georgia.  The talented tight end will have this work cut out for him with Michael Mayer already at TE as well as Jakobi Myers, Michael Gallup and Davante Adams catching balls as well.  This could call for inconsistency and typical rookie growing pains at the tight end position early on in the season, but Bowers does project as a difference maker due to his sheer physicality.  Overall, this team’s focus might not be on 2024 at all, as QB is a still a giant question mark along with the offensive line and the defense.  It won’t surprise anyone if the front office shifts quickly to 2025.

The Las Vegas Raiders’ best trait this year is that they’re in Vegas.  Their head coach, Antonio Pierce, had an excellent second half of the year with the team last season after they clearly tuned out former HC Josh McDaniels.  After taking over halfway through the season, he was able to rest the culture and get the team to buy-in which locked him up for the job this season. Pierce’s players enjoy the positive culture he is building there.  Culture building might be the only thing this team is really looking forward to this season as there remain plenty of holes on the roster.  This team is stuck between a rock and a hard place at quarterback as Michael Penix Jr., the guy they were potentially targeting to take up the mantle in this NFL draft, went much earlier than expected to the Atlanta Falcons.  That said, this team finds themselves in an interesting QB battle: Aiden O’Connell, last year’s rookie who started most of the season, or Gardner Minshew, who has been an entertaining bridge quarterback over the years and seems to find success wherever he goes. 

Writer’s Season Win Prediction: 3-14

The strength of this team is that it has an enjoyable wide receiver core led by Davante Adams.  Even with inconsistent quarterback play, he is still one of the best receivers in the NFL. He is joined this season by returning Jakobi Myers, and former Cowboys receiver Michael Gallup who was signed from free agency.  This group could be one of the few consistent factors in a potential rocky season upcoming for Vegas and also improve the statistical numbers of whoever is under center. Overall, this team will face Davante Adams’ questions again come 2025, but as for 2024, Adams will still finish as a Wide Receiver One on this team and in fantasy.  Although a major fantasy concern will be that he finished as the number-one receiving target in only half of their games this year, that will hopefully change if consistent quarterback play can stabilize the offense. Fantasy players should also be ecstatic that this group did not take a running back in the draft even after letting longtime Raider Josh Jacobs go.  They seem very set on Zamir White being the starting running back this year.  Zamir White had one start last season in week 15 against The Los Angeles Chargers and showed what he is capable of. He finished with a respectable 17 rushes for 69 yards and a touchdown.  Expect those numbers to be the floor in 2024. White has a skill set that will fit Antonio Pierce’s team well. His quick feet and shiftiness will be something that fantasy managers will get accustomed to early in the season as more will come in the touchdown column.  This team lost a lot of critical pieces in free agency and while White will replace Josh Jacobs, who has left for the Green Bay Packers, it’s still unclear whether White is up for the challenge. They’ve also lost defensive tackle Bilal Nichols, cornerback depth in Amik Robertson, and Tyler Hall, who left for the Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles, respectfully.  The most consistent members of their team are their kicker and punter. That’s not saying much, but AJ Cole and Daniel Carlson are as consistent as they come in this league. Unfortunately, as much as this is a positive, settling for three over seven might be something this group must do consistently.

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