Yardbarker
x
One position group likely holds Raiders back from last-to-first bid
Candice Ward-Imagn Images

The Las Vegas Raiders were completely swept by their AFC West rivals last season, which new head coach Pete Carroll is dead set on ensuring does not happen again.

In their own division, the Raiders have fallen behind the curve as their rivals have pulled away in the standings. The Kansas City Chiefs have been the cream of the crop for roughly the last decade, while the Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos made significant strides last season to make the playoffs. While there is plenty of reason to get excited about the Raiders this offseason, they have to cover significant ground in a short period of time.

Improvements at quarterback and running back should help, but another position looks like one that can slow the Raiders considerably.

A well-documented weakness can undo the good the Raiders have done in the offseason.

While constructing a case to see which teams can make the jump from last in their division to first, Bleacher Report’s Moe Moton ruled the Raiders out on the grounds of a secondary riddled with question marks.

“The Raiders have a mostly unproven secondary. They don’t have a sure-fire starter at cornerback. Safety Isaiah Pola-Mao has to make more impact plays this year than he did as a first-year starter in 2024,” wrote Moton.

“According to The Athletic’s Tashan Reed, the Raiders have featured Jeremy Chinn in the slot, which opens up a void at safety for backups Lonnie Johnson Jr. or Thomas Harper to fill in a full-time starting role.”

Given the division the Raiders are in, a secondary prone to giving up explosive plays through the air is practically a death sentence.

The Raiders play in an AFC West featuring the best quarterback in the NFL right now in Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes, and Los Angeles’s Justin Herbert has a case to be in the top five. Even the Broncos, who suffered from poor quarterback play after Peyton Manning’s retirement in 2016, have seemed to right the ship with Bo Nix. Geno Smith ensures that the Raiders will not have as wide of a talent gap under center as last season, but he may find himself in a fair share of shootouts in his first season in Las Vegas.

Banking on who they have could prove fruitful for the Raiders, but it also carries significant risk for the season ahead.

This article first appeared on Dice City Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads:

Customize Your Newsletter

Yardbarker +

Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!