The Las Vegas Raiders' roster is vastly different from the roster that ended last season. The Raiders' front office hopes the many changes they made this offseason leads to more wins in 2025.
According to Pro Football Focus, the Raiders' biggest strength last season was their tight end position. While Brock Bowers headlines the position group and is alone worth the Raiders' group of tight ends being named the team's strength, the Raiders also have another talent at tight end.
The Raiders still have tight end Michael Mayer, who was one of the best tight ends to enter the league in recent seasons. If Chip Kelly and the Raiders can find a way to use Bowers and Mayer productively, they would be a complex offense to stop.
"Tight end wasn’t seen as a glaring need for the Raiders entering the 2024 NFL Draft, but they still added Brock Bowers with the No. 13 overall pick. And it proved to be an incredibly wise decision, as he was an instant superstar as a rookie. The greatest tight end in college football history ranked third among all tight ends in 2024 with an 85.1 PFF overall grade and led the position with 1,194 receiving yards," PFF said.
PFF noted that the Raiders' coverage unit was their biggest weakness last season. The unit suffered several injuries to starters at cornerback and safety last season. Las Vegas lost several cornerbacks in free agency, and although they made additions, the group remains a significant unknown.
"Las Vegas struggled mightily in coverage last year, earning just a 32.0 PFF grade in that department. Not only was that the worst mark of any team in the NFL in 2024, but it tied for the worst figure over the past four seasons. The Raiders added two new starters in safety Jeremy Chinn and cornerback Eric Stokes to help fix that issue, and are hoping that third-round rookie Darien Porter can immediately contribute," PFF said.
According to Lace Zierlein, Porter should be a solid addition for the Raiders. Las Vegas will likely depend on him a decent amount this upcoming season, as they are still somewhat thin at the position.
"Sixth-year senior with elite traits and special teams talent but only one year of starting experience at cornerback. Porter’s rep total is heavy on zone coverages, but he has the athleticism, burst, and speed to handle more man coverage. He has excellent zone awareness with the twitch and ball skills to expand his sphere of influence. He uses his length to shade downfield throws, but needs to get stronger to improve his press, his contest, and his tackling in run support. More schooling is needed as a pattern-matcher, but his athletic profile and instant impact on special teams should create more confidence in projecting Porter’s continued ascension as a CB2/CB3," Zierlein said.
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