Improvements on the offensive line
One of the main issues with the Raiders last season was their offensive line, and the AFC West has some incredible pass rushers. If the Raiders wanted to have a chance to win games in the AFC West, they needed to protect Derek Carr from players like Joey Bosa, Melvin Ingram, Von Miller, Bradley Chubb, Chris Jones, and Frank Clark.
Last season, the Raiders did not have the offensive line to help Derek Carr out with any of these players, but times have changed. Unfortunately, the Raiders will be without Incognito and Jackson for the first games against the Chiefs and Broncos, but once those guys get back, the Raiders have the talent to keep them away from their QB.
Outside of the division, the Raiders will play other great pass rushing teams such as the Bears and Jaguars, but the Raiders have built an offensive line that has the potential to hold those teams off. When teams such as the Broncos, Chargers, Jaguars, and Bears struggle to get to the QB, they struggle all around.
It is a big task to ask Trent Brown to hold off Khalil Mack and Von Miller, but he and Gabe Jackson showed that they could do it in joint practices against the Rams when facing Aaron Donald, and the Raiders paid Trent Brown the big bucks for this reason.