State of the Las Vegas Raiders: Can Antonio Pierce deliver playoff berth in first full season as head man?
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Where does your squad stand ahead of the 2024 NFL season? Adam Rank sets the table by providing a State of the Franchise look at all 32 teams, zeroing in on the new faces to know, one significant fantasy spin and the stakes at play in the campaign to come.
Members of the Raiders organization, Raiders fans around the world and those who are still bummed out the Tropicana and Mirage won’t be pre/postgame destinations anymore …
Things didn’t work out with Josh McDaniels. I mean, who could have seen that coming? OK, that rhetorical question was mean. And the McDaniels era (error) is in the past. Cue the late Al Davis: “The greatness of the Raiders is in its future.” This is indeed an exciting time in Las Vegas, with Antonio Pierce embarking on his first full season as head coach. What can we expect this fall? Let’s take a look.
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2024 brain trust
| POSITION | NAME |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Antonio Pierce |
| General manager | Tom Telesco |
| Offensive coordinator | Luke Getsy |
| Defensive coordinator | Patrick Graham |
| Special teams coordinator | Tom McMahon |
Roster reshuffling
Below is a rundown of the Raiders’ most notable roster developments for the 2024 season, including this year’s draft class, as well as key acquisitions and departures via free agency and trade.
| Draft class (round-pick) | Key additions | Key departures |
|---|---|---|
| Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia (1-13) | Gardner Minshew, QB | Jimmy Garoppolo, QB |
| Jackson Powers-Johnson, IOL, Oregon (2-44) | Alexander Mattison, RB | Brian Hoyer, QB |
| DJ Glaze, OT, Maryland (3-77) | Michael Gallup, WR | Josh Jacobs, RB |
| Decamerion Richardson, CB, Mississippi State (4-112) | Jalen Guyton, WR | Jakob Johnson, FB |
| Tommy Eichenberg, LB, Ohio State (5-148) | Harrison Bryant, TE | DeAndre Carter, WR/KR/PR |
| Dylan Laube, RB, New Hampshire (6-208) | Andrus Peat, OL | Hunter Renfrow, WR |
| Trey Taylor, S, Air Force (7-223) | Cody Whitehair, IOL | Austin Hooper, TE |
| M.J. Devonshire, CB, Pittsburgh (7-229) | Christian Wilkins, DT | Jermaine Eluemunor, OL |
| Greg Van Roten, OG | ||
| Jerry Tillery, DL | ||
| Bilal Nichols, DL | ||
| Tyler Hall, CB | ||
| Amik Robertson, CB |
New faces to know
OK, technically not a “new face” in Las Vegas, but as mentioned above, this will be Pierce’s first full season in the big chair. At this point last year, the former Pro Bowl/Super Bowl-winning linebacker was preparing for his second campaign as the Raiders’ LBs coach. Following Josh McDaniels’ midseason firing, though, Pierce took the head-coaching reins and acquitted himself quite well. Vegas went 5-4 under the interim HC — including 3-1 in the division, with a Christmas Day win over the eventual Super Bowl champion Chiefs — and Mark Davis rewarded the 45-year-old with the permanent title in January. Under Pierce, the Raiders’ scoring went up (remember the 63-21 prime-time beatdown of the Chargers?) and the defense really rounded into form (holding five opponents to 14 points or fewer). This feels like the Raiders of old, who hit on a number of young, first-time head coaches (SEE: John Madden, Tom Flores and Jon Gruden in his first tenure with the franchise). I’m excited to see what Pierce can do. And I think new offensive coordinator Luke Getsy will be all right. Don’t let Bears fans tell you otherwise — it wasn’t all his fault.
The Raiders already had a pretty good defense, especially with Pierce in charge. Then they made a blockbuster signing in March, shelling out $110 million for a disruptive defensive tackle who’s squarely in his prime. Wilkins, who just posted career highs in sacks (nine) and QB hits (23) last season, gives Vegas another high-motor, every-down presence up front. This could help free up Maxx Crosby, the relentless defensive end who will enter this season as a serious contender for Defensive Player of the Year.
I know a lot of people were surprised when Las Vegas selected Bowers at No. 13 overall, but not this mock drafter. Many of you initially roasted me for that projection, but I’m not mad — I’m happy for the Raiders. Sure, they didn’t need a tight end, having just grabbed Michael Mayer early in Round 2 of the 2023 NFL Draft, but Vegas ran more 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends, two receivers) after Pierce took over the team. And honestly, Brock is more of an offensive weapon than a pure tight end. Per NFL Research, Bowers had the fifth-most receiving yards (2,538) and second-most receiving touchdowns (26) among ALL Power 5 players from 2021 through ’23.
State of the QB room
Better than Davante Adams felt it was with Jimmy Garoppolo as QB1, amirite? Listen, Gardner Minshew is a solid NFL quarterback. His 15-22 career record isn’t great, but he nearly got the Colts into last season’s playoffs as the injury replacement for Anthony Richardson. Earning the first Pro Bowl nod of his career, Minshew recorded career highs in wins (seven) and passing yards (3,305). Now, the swashbuckling signal-caller does have an underwhelming 59:24 TD-to-INT ratio over five pro seasons. On the other hand, he posted a 7:2 ratio against 2023 playoff teams. Gardner kind of reminds me of Raiders quarterbacks of yore — guys like Jim Plunkett and Rich Gannon who bounced around the league before finding their footing with the Raiders. The other option under center is Aidan O’Connell. A fourth-round pick one year ago, the Purdue product was thrust into the starting lineup as a rookie and showed some promise, going 5-5 with a 12:7 TD-to-INT ratio. That said, I expect Minshew to win this competition.
Most important non-QB
The Raiders legitimately could field one of the best defenses in the AFC in 2024. They bring back nearly the entire unit that surged down the stretch last season, and they added Christian Wilkins, whom I just lauded moments ago. But yeah, this is still Maxx’s team. He’s the soul of the Silver and Black, as an iron man who just eclipsed 1,000 snaps for the fourth straight season despite multiple injuries that led to knee and hand surgeries this offseason. A true game-wrecker who’s finished top five in pressures during each of the past three years, per PFF, Crosby has racked up 35 sacks and three straight Pro Bowl nods in that span. After solely leading the NFL with 22 tackles for loss in 2022, he tied Danielle Hunter for the league high with 23 in ’23. In addition to all that premium stat-stuffing, Crosby isn’t just the leader of this defense but a dean of D-linemen league-wide. He’s one of three chief figures who put together the “Sack Summit,” an annual offseason event for NFL pass rushers in Las Vegas. He kind of reminds me of Raiders great Ted Hendricks, in terms of stature. I know you youngs have never heard of the guy, but he was awesome — believe me. Or just take the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s word for it.
My HOTTEST Raiders fantasy take:
Davante Adams’ target share knows no bounds.
The squeaky wheel gets the grease. That old adage gets plenty of burn in the fantasy community, and when it comes to the Raiders’ WR1 in this moment, it feels quite apropos. Have Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell binged Netflix’s Receiver documentary series yet? If so, they’re poised to funnel about 500 targets to Adams. Especially considering the six-time Pro Bowler’s relative lack of competition for targets among Raiders wideouts. (The tight ends are another story.) Not to mention, Las Vegas doesn’t have a top-20 running back — sorry, Zamir White — which portends more passing.
2024 roadmap
Three key dates:
- Week 1: at Los Angeles Chargers. The Raiders open the season by going on the road to Los Angeles. Fun fact: The Raiders will hold training camp at the Jack Hammett Sports Complex in Costa Mesa, where Chargers camp used to take place. Lotta ties between these two division rivals, who’ll both be looking to open a new era with a win. Who prevails: Antonio Pierce’s crew or Jim Harbaugh’s bunch?
- Week 7: at Los Angeles Rams. The Raiders still have a large fanbase in Los Angeles, so having two roadies at SoFi is a great opportunity for this organization. The Raiders, it should be noted, play a 2023 playoff team and/or divisional opponent in 11 of the first 13 games of the season.
- Week 13 (Friday): at Kansas City Chiefs. Las Vegas wraps up its season series vs. Kansas City with this Black Friday tilt. The Raiders play just one division opponent in the final five weeks of the season (Chargers in Week 18).
For 2024 to be a success, the Raiders MUST:
A) Win the Super Bowl
B) Make a playoff run
C) Earn a playoff berth
D) Finish above .500
E) Show progress
My answer: C) Earn a playoff berth. Over the past 21 seasons, the Raiders have made just two playoff appearances. They have not won a postseason contest since the 2002 AFC Championship Game — that’s the second-longest drought in the league, behind only the Dolphins (23 years without a playoff win) and just ahead of the Commanders (18 years). This franchise last won a division title in 2002, which is the second-longest streak in the league, behind only Cleveland (31 seasons). I’m not saying Vegas needs to take the AFC West. After all, the Chiefs have won eight straight division titles. But for this season to be a success, the Raiders must get back to the tournament. Maybe even win a game.
- AFC East
- AFC North
- AFC South
- AFC West
- NFC East
- NFC North
- NFC South
- NFC West
