Raiders: 3 reasons why Las Vegas will win the AFC West in 2022
The New Faces
For a team that reached the playoffs, it would seem the Raiders did not need to make much change. But the NFL is a league full of change, and even Super Bowl winners must add new faces if they want to continue their success into the future.
The Raiders did that and some. The franchise traded away star defensive end Yannick Ngakoue who led the Raiders in sacks last season for cornerback Rock Ya-Sin. The move solidified the Raiders’ shaky cornerback situation and added a player who at only 25-years-old (26 at the start of the season), has plenty of promise to build upon his impressive 2021 season in which according to PFF, he had the fifth-highest grade in man coverage, while also having an overall top-20 grade, even more, impressive when considering it was only his second professional season.
The franchise did not rest on its laurels – and to replace Ngakoue, they added Chandler Jones. Jones has over 100 career sacks and is a 4x Pro Bowler who is one of the best in the league in rushing the quarterback.
At 32-years-old, some have said that Jones’s best football is behind him, but he was still able to reach double-digit sacks in 2021, and after seeing what another plus 30-year-old defensive end in Von Miller received in terms of a contract, Jones ends up looking like a steal. Pairing the star veteran with the up-and-coming Maxx Crosby will not only pay huge dividends for the development of Crosby, but it will also lead to success now and not in the future with a proven star veteran, especially one who is also stout against the run, something Ngakoue was non-existent in.
These moves are all significant and huge, but we had to save the biggest one for last. In fact, this may be the biggest move in the entirety of the 2022 offseason – and that would be the trade for Davante Adams.
The 5x Pro Bowler in Adams is not only one of the best wide receivers in football, but arguably one of the best players in the entirety of the league.
The Raiders did have to part with a first-round and second-round pick in this season’s draft, but when you have the opportunity to receive talent in the form of someone like Adams, you make the trade imminently. The franchise finally receives a true number one wideout (no offense Hunter Renfrow), in the form of Adams, but also pairs Carr with his top college target in Adams.
The big moves made a playoff team even stronger, and these gigantic waves will have significant effects on the division – a division in which the Raiders with such a huge amount of change should win.