The Las Vegas Raiders entered the offseason with a clear plan to quickly turn things around, and that’s why the franchise hired Pete Carroll and traded for Geno Smith, in addition to putting together a promising draft class led by Ashton Jeanty. Now, the team is determined to dramatically improve on its four wins from last season.
While having a Pro-Bowl quarterback and a Super Bowl-winning head coach can significantly help with the process of getting things turned around, Smith and Carroll aren’t the only pieces Las Vegas will need to be difference makers in 2025. Ryan McFadden explained that in a recent ESPN piece, looking at the Raiders’ biggest storyline entering camp.
McFadden identified the question, “How realistic is Pete Carroll's goal of immediate success,” as the biggest storyline for Las Vegas. While trying to answer that question, the reporter argued that a handful of players will ultimately decide if the Raiders can drastically improve their win total. McFadden said defenders like Christian Wilkins and Malcolm Koonce, as well as the rookies outside of Jeanty, will be the X-factors in Vegas.
"Whether the Raiders can be a team that floats around a .500 record will come down to defensive players such as Christian Wilkins and Malcolm Koonce returning to full strength and some of the rookies becoming solid contributors right away," McFadden wrote. "Outside of running back Ashton Jeanty, who is expected to be the focus of the offense, wide receivers Dont'e Thornton and Jack Bech and cornerback Darien Porter also could be asked to play meaningful snaps early. Will they be ready when their numbers are called?"
ESPN believes defense and rookies will be the key to Raiders quickly turning things around
This seems like a pretty fair assessment. Everyone pretty much knows the kind of quarterback Geno Smith is, and Ashton Jeanty is entering the year with some high expectations. Additionally, Brock Bowers is returning for year two, and he’s already being viewed as the best tight end in the game. That means the rest of the offense will likely be filled out by the promising rookie receivers: Jack Bech and Dont'e Thornton.
However, rookies are as much of an unknown as health situations, and that’s what the Raiders are dealing with on defense. Christian Wilkins is currently on the PUP list, dealing with a foot injury that limited him to five games last season, and Malcom Koonce is returning from an ACL injury that kept him out all of last season. If those two can be healthy and play up to their abilities, the defense should significantly improve.