Coaching
In his third year coaching the Raiders, Jon Gruden improved by going 8-8. Las Vegas missed the playoffs in 17 of their last 18 seasons. Over 14 seasons as the head coach for the Bucs and the Raiders, Gruden went 114-110 with five playoff appearances and a Super Bowl victory.
Greg Olson returns for his third season as the offensive coordinator for Las Vegas. From 2004 to 2016, he ran the offense for five different NFL teams. Olson has 18 years of experience in the NFL, with 14 coming as an offensive coordinator. His ties to Jon Gruden in Tampa from 2008 to 2011 led to his hiring by the Raiders in 2018.
The Raiders jumped to 10th in points scored (434), 121 more than 2019 (313). Las Vegas finished eighth in offensive yards after ranking 23rd and 11th in the first two seasons by Gruden’s coaching staff.
Las Vegas slipped to 30th in points allowed (478) and 25th in yards allowed, leading to Gus Bradley signing with the Raiders. Over the past four seasons, he ran the Chargers’ defense. Jacksonville gave him four years to prove his worth as a head coach (14-48) after running the Seahawks' defense from 2009 to 2012.
Free Agency
The Raiders signed John Brown and Willie Snead at wide receiver after losing Nelson Agholor to the Patriots.
Brown had a career season (72/1,060/6) for Buffalo in 2019, but injuries last year led to nine missed games and a step back in production (44/458/3). He should help stretch the field for the Raiders’ offense.
Snead played well in his first two seasons (69/984/3 and 72/895/4) with the Saints. His opportunity took a sharp decline after signing with the Ravens due to their run-first mentality on offense. Snead offers a possession-type skill set.
The Eagles used Agholor close to the line of scrimmage over five seasons, which led to him gaining only 11.2 yards per catch. His best two years in Philly came in 2017 (62/768/8) and 2018 (64/736/4). After signing with the Raiders, Las Vegas featured him as a deep threat. Agholor finished with 48 catches for 896 yards and eight touchdowns over 82 targets (18.7 yards per catch). He had 15 catches over 20 yards, with five of those earning over 40 yards.
Las Vegas brought in Kenyan Drake to upgrade the passing game out of the backfield. He struggled to find his rhythm in too many games last year, leading to regression in his yards per rush (4.0) and yards per catch (5.5). Drake picked 27 touchdowns over his past 45 games.
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Their defense lost LB Raekwon McMillan, S Erik Harris, and DE Takkarist McKinley.
McMillan posted 105 tackles for the Dolphins in 2018 after getting drafted in the second round. He struggled in coverage while being a non-factor rushing the quarterback. In 2020, he added no value to the Raiders’ defense while seeing minimal action while being healthy for all 16 games.
Harris starts the year at age 31, with a regression in his overall game. He still missed too many tackles with limited range in coverage.
McKinley continues to fade against the run while losing in the pass rush over the past two seasons (4.5 sacks in 18 games – 13 over his first 31 starts with the Falcons). He is a former first-round draft pick (2017) who missed 12 games last year due to a groin issue.
The Raiders added CB Rasul Douglas, DT Quinton Jefferson, DE Yannick Ngakoue, and CB Casey Hayward to the defensive side of the ball.
Douglas brings a risk/reward in coverage. He projects to be the Raiders’ third cornerback after setting a career-high in tackles (62) in 2020. Douglas will give up some damage in touchdowns, and wide receivers can challenge him over the long field.
Jefferson showed growth in the pass rush in 2018 and 2019 in the pass rush for the Seahawks, but he lost his way against the run last year with the Bills.
Ngakoue upgrades the pass rush, but he continues to be a liability in run support with too many missed tackles. The Raiders will give him most of his playing time on passing downs.
In 2016 and 2017, Hayward had 98 combined tackles with 11 interceptions and 42 defended passes. His game plateaued over the past three years while allowing a low catch rate. He allowed more big plays in 2020 with eight defended passes and 41 tackles over 41 games.
The Raiders added OL Nick Martin, who showed fade last year after turning in back-to-back steady seasons for the Texans. His pass blocking tends to be an asset while coming up short in the run game.
Incognito battled injuries last year, and age (38) isn’t on his side. He falls into the fighter category with plenty of experience in the league.
Draft
T Alex Leatherwood
He has the look of an upside tackle who lacks fluid motions on some plays when he is thinking and not attacking. Leatherwood needs work to reach his ceiling while owning the base tools to succeed at the next level. His range, power, and hands are the areas he needs to improve on.
S Trevon Moehrig
Moehrig has play-making qualities while owning the vision, quickness, and fire to produce early in his career. His aggressiveness can get him in trouble at times, highlighted by failures when peaking at the quarterback or committing too early against the run. Moehrig expects to play well from a high safety position.
DE Malcolm Koonce
Koonce has the foundation to be a disrupting pass rusher thanks to his quickness and ability to lose blockers at the line of scrimmage. He needs to get stronger plus add more depth to his moves to win more often at the next level. His game takes a hit if asked to work inside at this point in his career.
S Divine Deablo
Deablo projects to work close to the line of scrimmage in run support with the coverage skills to handle most tight ends. His change of direction quickness does put him in a trailing position, which offenses will try to use against him. Deablo needs to improve his play recognition at the point of attack and work on his tackling technique.
S Tyree Gillespie
Gillespie should work off the ball with a do-your-job approach. He won’t create many turnovers while locking in on the quarterback's eyes at times, creating lag in his timing in coverage. Gillespie should handle most tight ends in coverage while offering the most value moving forward in run support.
CB Nate Hobbs
Hobbs does a lot of things right in coverage while owning plenty of speed and quickness. His challenge comes from weakness in his vision and timing in reading pass routes. He tends to play the man rather than ball in the deep passing, leaving some possible turnovers on the table. With coaching and some correction in his keys in coverage, Hobbs should improve over time.
C Jimmy Morrissey
He gets off the ball quickly, pointing to success in a fast-hitting rushing attack. His lack of size invites risk in pass protection. Morrissey works hard with a good feel for the game.
