If you care about preseason wins and losses, it was not a good opener for the Las Vegas Raiders. The Arizona Cardinals basically did whatever they wanted to offensively in a 27-14 win at Allegiant Stadium, as the Raiders' young cornerbacks, in particular, showed that they have some work to do.
But all was not lost for the Silver and Black. Focusing on young players, Fernando Mendoza, Mike Washington Jr. and Jack Bech stood out on offense. UDFA Cian Slone had a nice showing on the defensive side, while Greedy Vance Jr. was the one cornerback who played noticeably well.
Head coach Klint Kubiak was surely going to have more definitive things to say about his team's performance and how he thought some individuals did after reviewing the film. And with that knowledge, he told reporters the following morning that three UDFAs have stood out.
Klint Kubiak praises 3 Raiders UDFAs for their work in preseason opener
Early in his meeting with the media via video call the day after the preseason opener, Kubiak was asked if anyone from the group of Raiders' undrafted rookies stood out to him against Arizona. He singled out three players. Well, three and a half.
"Yeah, for sure. Cian [Slone] on defense has done some good stuff. We got the wide receiver position – we've got a few guys that have showed up between Chase [Roberts] and our young man from Indiana [E.J. Williams Jr.], they got some good snaps yesterday. Overall, those are the kind of guys that come to mind. Someone I'm missing that you're thinking of is on the tip of my tongue."
Slone carried his momentum from OTAs into the first preseason game. He played a total of 29 snaps against the Cardinals, 21 on defense and eight on special teams, with three total tackles to go with a sack and some run stops.
Roberts also garnered some buzz during offseason work, and he was able to carry some of it into a game setting. He had one catch for 12 yards on two targets against the Cardinals, as he played 14 offensive snaps and two on special teams.
Williams' one catch against Arizona went for 41 yards, which was enough for him to lead the team in receiving yards for the game. He played seven offensive snaps, and three snaps on special teams, and he made the most of them.
Kubiak finished his thoughts by reinforcing the most viable path for Slone, Roberts, Williams and others of their ilk to make the Raiders' 53-man roster at practice and over the remaining two preseason contests.
"There's potential for those guys at the bottom of the roster to show what they can do on special teams and try to help us, so that'll be a good thing to watch, too, in the last 2 games.”
Slone, frankly, has made an early case for a spot on the 53-man roster independent of what he can do on special teams. But special teams is the differentiator when it comes to who gets those final roster spots come cutdown day, and Kubiak has clearly sent that message.
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