Las Vegas Raiders: 4 most exciting storylines heading into 2020

Las Vegas Raiders: 4 most exciting storylines heading into 2020

Exciting rookies looking to make a big impact

The 2019 Raiders rookie class was perhaps the best in the illustrious history of the franchise. Contributors were found in nearly every round of the draft and some hidden gems were uncovered in the later rounds in Maxx Crosby and Hunter Renfrow. It’s a rare feat for an NFL team to hit on even half of their picks and a case can be made for every 2019 pick except seventh rounder Quinton Bell.

The 2020 class has some giant shoes to fill and expectations will be high after last year’s success but there are plenty of reasons to be excited. Mike Mayock and Jon Gruden focused on finding playmakers on both sides of the ball and guys who could make huge plays everywhere on the field.

Henry Ruggs III, Lynn Bowden, and Bryan Edwards should open up the offense and give Derek Carr more weapons than he has ever had. Jon Gruden has definitely spent many late nights during the COVID-19 quarantine drawing up gadget plays for the skillsets of these youngsters and they should be on full display come September.

On defense the Raiders went out and got three guys who could be best described as “gamers”. Damon Arnette was overlooked thanks to his superstar teammate Jeff Okudah but showed incredible toughness and grit to play through injury.

Tanner Muse is a guy who can be plugged in all over the field and should make an immediate impact as a special teams demon. Amik Robertson is the least heralded but perhaps most intriguing of the bunch and has been described as the steal of the draft by many pundits.

Even the undrafted rookies show promise as the team has high hopes for CB Madre Harper and LB/S Javin White. It may be unfair to expect a repeat of the 2019 class but there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic.