ESPN predicts 2019 Vegas odds won’t be kind to the Oakland Raiders

With the Oakland Raiders seemingly hitting the rebuild button once again, there no assumption they’ll be competitive in the 2019 season.

ESPN writer Bill Barnwell released his predictive over/under for all 32 teams earlier this year, and the Raiders were set at 5 with a +110 on the over and -130 for the under.

Now, this is not entirely Barnwell’s opinion on how the Raiders will do but merely how he thinks Vegas will look at the team.

Barnwell’s reasoning behind this prediction was due to the turnover on the roster and the youth movement that appears to be coming with all their 2019 draft picks.

"Oakland’s roster is a work in progress, as just about everyone who wasn’t acquired by Jon Gruden is likely available for trade or subject to release this offseason. The Raiders have four of the top 35 picks in this year’s draft, but given Gruden’s track record with personnel, should they really be expected to make an immediate impact?"

And as much as fans hate the idea of another losing season, if this team is committed to rebuilding, we shouldn’t have very high expectations for next season.

For one, the Raiders have a brutal looking schedule that features the NFC North and AFC South. With road games against the Packers, Texans, Colts, Vikings, and even though it’s technically a home game they have to travel to London to face the Bears. And of course, they have to contend with their our division which features 2 of the top 3 teams in the AFC.

Even if they go after Antonio Brown and another big-time free agent, this roster is still going to rely heavily on young players at important positions which makes it hard to win in the NFL.

However, that still doesn’t mean that the Raiders can’t be vastly more talented and competitive than they were in 2018. If this team is playing close games and are just not mature enough to get over the hump yet, I can accept that.

And perhaps they win a couple of games they aren’t supposed to but given where this roster will likely be at the start of 2019, 5 or 6 wins sounds about right to me with 8 being the ceiling.