Oct 20, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby (98) during pregame warmups before an NFL game against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

Analyzing the Composition of the Raiders' Roster

Originally posted on Las Vegas Raiders on SI
By Ezekiel Trezevant | Last updated Apr 2, 2025 12:30 PM ET

The Las Vegas Raiders' roster has undergone more than a few changes this offseason, as they have lost and added several players early in free agency. The roster will change even more soon, in the NFL Draft. The Raiders look to follow up last offseason's productive draft haul with another.

While adding another productive draft haul would expedite the Raiders' efforts to build a more competitive roster, their past draft failures have directly correlated to the current state of their roster. Las Vegas has undeniable talent at certain positions, but overall, the roster needs work.

The Pro Football Network recently analyzed the composition of every team in the National Football League, ranking where each team falls in several categories, including the percentage of players drafted by the team, players signed in free agency, and average age.

PFN also considered the number of first-round picks a team had and the number of NFL Draft Day two and Day three players on a team's number of first-round picks and roster.

"The Las Vegas Raiders have some extreme trends on their current roster. The Raiders are the third-youngest roster by average age, while also having the third-highest proportion of Day 3 or undrafted players," PFN said.

"In fairness, not all of those Day 3 or undrafted players are young, unproven players. Maxx Crosby was a fourth-round pick, while the likes of Jakobi Meyers and Raheem Mostert were undrafted players who made their marks on other teams."

PFN noted the Raiders' draft failures. Regarding the percentage of first-round picks, the Raiders rank near the bottom of the league.

"However, it does reflect how the Raiders failed to hit on some early picks in recent years. Between 2016 and 2022, the Raiders made nine first-round picks. Only Kolton Miller earned a second contract with the team. In particular, the stretch of five first-rounders between 2019-20 produced one useful contributor who left in free agency (Josh Jacobs) and four middling-to-disastrous players in Damon Arnette, Henry Ruggs III, Johnathan Abram, and Clelin Ferrell," PFN said.

It is a hard feat to have five first-round draft picks over the span of two offseasons and have nothing to show for it. However, those draft misses and others perfectly explain how the Raiders got to where they currently are.

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This article first appeared on Las Vegas Raiders on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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