The Raiders' Offseason Changes Will Pay Off Immediately

"Some thought Russell Wilson would reunite with Carroll upon the head coach's return to the sidelines. A QB-HC reunion did happen in Las Vegas, but it was the Raiders acquiring Geno Smith from the Seattle Seahawks instead. Smith, who got a two-year extension from the Raiders, enters the 2025 season with "unfinished business" after being reconnected with Carroll," Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez noted that the addition of Raiders Offensive Coordinator Chip Kelly and Ashton Jeanty should pay off handsomely for Las Vegas this upcoming season. The new additions the Raiders made this season are reason enough to be hopeful they can turn things around sooner rather than later.

"Along with new offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, the veteran QB will lead an offense that finished 27th in total offense in consecutive seasons and dead last in rushing in 2024. The Raiders selected Ashton Jeanty with the No. 6 overall pick in April's draft, and the rookie is poised to see plenty of action to prepare him for the turnaround. Smith is confident and believes the Raiders offense could be "explosive and efficient," Gonzalez said.

Following Organized Team Activities, Kelly explained his approach of playing to the strengths of the players he is given, instead of forcing them to adjust to his system. This should bode well for the Raiders this season.

“I think you always adapt to your personnel. There's not a system - like you can say, 'Hey, we're gonna do this,' and then if that's not the strength of your players - I think part of the OTA process for us is getting to understand what the strengths of these players are, and then how do you play to those strengths," Kelly said.

"Some teams are heavy running back laden, some teams are heavy wide out laden, some teams, the quarterback is just a drop back guy, but he's not a movement guy. It all depends on who you have personnel-wise, and then you try to fit in their strengths into the scheme that you're going to run.

"We have a lot of really, really good coaches on our staff. So, it's also a blending of that, like where they came from and what they feel really confident doing, and then really making an evaluation of what each individual group, offensive line, tight ends, running backs, quarterbacks, wide outs do best, and then how do we match that up with a total system and a scheme. Because there's enough out there that we've all done, but the key is matching to our guys' strengths and what they do really, really well."

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