Raiders move up a tier in new hierarchy rankings
Last season was a season no one wants to remember. It was quite as bad as the 2018 season for the Las Vegas Raiders, where they went 4-12. But, because there were so many expectations going into the 2022 season, the 6-11 finish hurt for Raiders fans. Oh, and there is the fact that a […]
Last season was a season no one wants to remember. It was quite as bad as the 2018 season for the Las Vegas Raiders, where they went 4-12. But, because there were so many expectations going into the 2022 season, the 6-11 finish hurt for Raiders fans.
Oh, and there is the fact that a lot of things changed, including parting ways with franchise quarterback Derek Carr. No one wants a repeat of the 2022 season, but the Raiders made every move possible to make sure that doesn't happen.
That's probably a big reason why they are no longer considered to be in the bottom tier. Now, one NFL writer has them a tier above that in the AFC hierarchy.
The Raiders, however, do pick early (No. 7 overall), and there's growing talk that they could draft a quarterback — even after making their biggest-name offseason signing at the position with Jimmy Garoppolo. But the structure of Garoppolo's deal could be telling: peel back the layers, and it's essentially a one-year, bridge-QB contract. The remainder of the Raiders' offseason has been fairly busy, highlighted by many other Patriots-flavored pickups from HC Josh McDaniels and GM Dave Ziegler. In reality, the biggest addition could be Jakobi Meyers, who was a productive slot on some trudging New England offenses. With Josh Jacobs franchise-tagged, perhaps McDaniels has something brewing with that offense. – Eric Edholm, NFL.com
Now I say they moved up because before they were in the bottom tier. They were one of the worst teams in the league last year, which is why they got the seventh pick in the draft.
They had a bottom-five defense, and the offense wasn't doing much to help either. The Raiders have been able to put themselves in a better position to succeed this offseason by making the moves they made. They deserve to be in that middle of the league tier, and I think that's the type of team they will be.