Will the Las Vegas Raiders be better than expected during the 2022 season?
By Brad Weiss
The Las Vegas Raiders have done a nice job stacking talent this offseason, and with even more cap space to work with, could they be better than expected in 2022?
Last season, the Las Vegas Raiders finished with ten wins, all the while doing it with so many big-time issues off the field. It took an incredible four-game winning streak to close the regular season to punch their ticket to the playoffs, which they did by knocking off Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 18.
Despite that, teams like Los Angeles, Kansas City, and even Denver are getting more love than them this offseason but is that a correct assessment. Las Vegas has had an incredible offseason, one that has pushed the level of talent on each side of the ball in the right direction, so why are they seen by many as the odd team out this year?
Raiders named a top-5 team that could be better than expected
Recently, Jordan Dajani put together a list of five teams that he felt could be better than expected during the 2022 season for CBSSports.com. In that list, he talks about three AFC teams, two from the NFC, and the Raiders were one of those mentioned.
Dajani does a nice job going into depth about why that is the case, as he spoke about the season Carr put together last year, and what the new additions could mean. Las Vegas made the playoffs last season amid so much turmoil, so those thinking they will fall backward are going to be wrong.
The truth is, the Raiders have bolstered their roster in a big way, not only bringing in depth guys but bringing in some players who are the best in their entire position group. They also have over $25 million worth of cap space to play with going forward, so while some media outlets may be counting them out, even in a tough AFC West division, the Raiders are going to be right in the thick of things next season.