Expert Makes Bold Claim on 2025 Raiders

However, the Raiders significantly accelerated their timeline this offseason. They brought in former Super Bowl champion Pete Carroll as their new head coach. He also brought with him USC Trojans legend Chip Kelly, who will be calling plays as their offensive coordinator.

Las Vegas didn't just make changes along its sidelines, either. They also added quarterback Geno Smith in free agency, signing him to a two-year, $75 million contract. He should be a much more threatening presence under center than 2024 QBs, Gardner Minshew II and Aidan O'Connell. All expectations are that the Raiders will improve in 2025, but how much progress will they make in this first year of their new era?

Can the Las Vegas Raiders surpass their projected win total for the 2025 NFL season?

Some aren't super confident in the Las Vegas Raiders' ability to take a big leap forward in the 2025 NFL season. Despite the additions of Head Coach Pete Carroll, Offensive Coordinator Chip Kelly, quarterback Geno Smith, and sixth-overall pick Ashton Jeanty, among others, there are still plenty of question marks along the roster.

SportsLine's Jeff Hochman, who has garnered a betting record of 83-66-3 over the last four seasons, believes that the Raiders have too many holes to overcome this year:

"The Las Vegas Raiders face significant challenges in a loaded AFC West with question marks at receiver and in their secondary. Even with Geno Smith at quarterback and veteran head coach Pete Carroll, the underwhelming supporting cast makes eight wins unlikely. The Raiders face the AFC and NFC West divisions (read: Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, Matthew Stafford and Brock Purdy, among others) and project as favorites in only five games. The team could head into their bye week with a record of 0-7 after playing four challenging road games at the beginning of the season: against the Patriots, Commanders, Colts and Chiefs.

It is hard to see the Raiders achieving eight wins, much less seven. My model reveals that the Raiders are projected to finish with fewer than 7.5 wins 69.7% of the time, with five to six wins being the most likely outcome."

Las Vegas was given some favorable matchups after their poor finish last season, including games against the AFC South, Cleveland Browns, and New York Giants, but they'll have to pull off quite a few upsets to clear seven wins, evidenced by their +140 odds to do so on FanDuel.

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