Oakland Raiders offense should be explosive in 2019

The Oakland Raiders have brought in a ton of talent on the offensive side of the ball this offseason, and the unit as a whole should be pretty explosive in 2019.

During the 2018 NFL season, the Oakland Raiders struggled mightily on both sides of the ball, as they were able to muster only four wins throughout the entire campaign. One big issue with the roster was the fact that the offense lacked firepower, as the team traded away Amari Cooper, Marshawn Lynch was injured, and there was very little depth at the wideout position.

Tight end Jared Cook was a bright spot, leading the team in receiving yards for the second straight season, and running back Jalen Richard proved to be a valuable asset in the passing game out of the backfield. However, this was an offense that needed to be rebuilt this offseason, and first-year general manager Mike Mayock did just that.

Mayock began his stellar offseason by trading a third and fifth round draft pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers for Antonio Brown, who is the best wide receiver Derek Carr has ever had in his career with the Silver and Black. Brown is a 100-catch machine, and he headlines a wide receiver group that has been revamped for 2019.

Behind Brown, the Raiders will have Tyrell Williams, one of the better deep threats in the league. In addition, Oakland brought in J.J. Nelson, a burner from Arizona, as well as drafting a legitimate slot guy in Clemson’s Hunter Renfrow.

At running back, Lynch has retired, but the Raiders drafted a franchise guy in Josh Jacobs from Alabama in the first round. Jacobs is not only a solid runner, but a terrific asset out of the backfield as well, and should be in line for consideration for the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year honors if he can stay healthy.

Not only did the Raiders give Carr some incredible skill position guys this offseason, but they also added a quality offensive tackle, signing New England Patriots left tackle Trent Brown early in free agency. He will team with Kolton Miller to give Carr solid bookends along the offensive line, and the team does still have the best center in the game in Rodney Hudson.

Carr ended the 2018 NFL season with over 4,000 yards for the first time in his career, and completed nearly 70 percent of his passes with very little weapons to choose from. This is a completely revamped group of assets for him entering year two in Gruden’s system, so the sky is the limit for Carr in his sixth season as the starter in Oakland.

For all the noise surrounding Carr this offseason, and how the team would move on from him as the starting quarterback, the organization made a statement by bringing in so many weapons for him to choose from in 2019. This is a guy who nearly won the NFL’s Most Valuable Player award a few years back, and has already been to a handful of Pro Bowls.

Carr is not used to playing in the same offense in consecutive seasons, so that should definitely benefit him in 2019. With better offensive tackles, an elite wideout, and a tremendous supporting staff round him, expect this Raiders offense to be very explosive this Fall, with their first test coming against division rival Denver in Week 1.