Though the offseason workouts have barely begun, Vegas, and other media outlets do not like the Oakland Raiders chances of making the playoffs.
Last season, the Oakland Raiders finished with only four wins, which was one off the worst record in the entire NFL. On offense, they struggled to play consistent football, as Derek Carr was running for his life all season, and he had very little weapons to throw to.
On the other side of the ball, the Raiders were historically bad at getting after the quarterback, racking up only 13 sacks as a team. During this offseason, the team has done a great job adding pieces to many of their holes, but they are still not viewed as a potential playoff contender just yet.
ESPN recently released a piece talking about each team’s win totals, and chances of making the playoffs, and the Raiders’ numbers were not great. The article had Oakland’s over/under win total at 6.5, and their chances of making the playoffs at 11.7%.
ESPN NFL Nation reporter Paul Gutierrez, who covers the Raiders for the Worldwide Leader, did speak about the team’s upgrades on defense, which finished No. 26 in the NFL in 2018. Guys like Clelin Ferrell and Johnathan Abram are going to make an immediate impact according to Gutierrez, with Trayvon Mullen and Isaiah Johnson getting in the mix as well.
In addition, Matt Schneidman, beat writer for the Mercury News, tweeted out on Wednesday the updated betting odds for which team will win the AFC West. Surprisingly, the Raiders had the longest odds there as well.
Odds to win AFC West, per @betonline_ag:
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) May 8, 2019
Kansas City Chiefs: 2/3
Los Angeles Chargers: 7/4
Denver Broncos: 12/1
Oakland Raiders: 16/1
New general manager Mike Mayock has been the perfect compliment to head coach Jon Gruden, and the Raiders certainly have one of the more upgraded rosters in all of football. The draft, and those guys they took after the draft ended brought incredible talent as well, so them being a 16-1 shot, behind the Denver Broncos is a bit of a head-scratcher.
Of course, all of this is just hearsay until the games actually start, as we have seen plenty of teams come out of nowhere to clinch playoff spots in recent years. The fact is, the Raiders did a lot to upgrade this roster on both sides of the ball, and viewing them as the worst team in the AFC West at this point is just wrong.