Las Vegas Raiders: 3 reasons why the offense will be top-10 in 2020
By Brad Weiss
Josh Jacobs and Darren Waller are elite at their position groups
Looking at the Raiders running back and tight end groups, the team has clear, elite players at the top of their depth chart. Josh Jacobs rushed for over 1,100 yards as a rookie last season, doing it with a fractured shoulder for half the season, while missing the final two games of the year due to the injury.
In Jacobs, the Raiders have that kind of back that any teams needs to succeed on that side of the ball, as his running style can keep the opposing offenses off the field. In addition, now that his shoulder is healed up, the Raiders should feature him more in the passing game, an area where he succeeded at Alabama.
Behind Jacobs, the Raiders brought back Jalen Richard, and drafted Lynn Bowden Jr., a versatile player from Kentucky who played quarterback, running back, and wideout in college. Alec Ingold returns at fullback, and during his rookie season, he proved his worth as a runner, blocker, and even a pass-catcher.
Darren Waller heads a tight end position group that has multiple players who do different things, and all of them are going to play a role in Jon Gruden’s offense in 2020. Waller is the kind of pass-catching tight end that can take an offense to the next level, and he has a nice cast around him, including Foster Moreau and Derek Carrier.
Jason Witten is a future Hall of Famer, and he proved that he can be a productive tight end even at his advanced age. Overall, Gruden has some solid pieces to play with this season at tight end, making this one of the better collective groups in football.