It doesn't take clairvoyance to understand that the Las Vegas Raiders aren't going to be competing for a Super Bowl during the 2026 NFL season. But you'd be in denial to think that the Silver and Black haven't made all the right decisions to put themselves on a path to get there in the next few years.
Still, this young Raiders team, led by superstar Maxx Crosby, a new head coach in Klint Kubiak, and a formidable young offensive trio of Fernando Mendoza, Brock Bowers and Ashton Jeanty, has a lot to prove. With how much the franchise has struggled in recent years, they're not going to be anointed.
Mendoza and Kubiak's success and synergy, in particular, will determine just how much promise Las Vegas has and how far this franchise can go. Until they show what they're capable of on the field, though, they're going to land low in any NFL-wide rankings. Hopefully, they use it to fuel their fire.
Las Vegas Raiders' young HC-QB pairing ranked 28th in the NFL
Sports Illustrated's Matt Verderame recently ranked the top head coach and quarterback duos in the league using a composite score of the head coach and quarterback's individual rankings. Kubiak and Mendoza were 27th and 26th, respectively, earning them a spot at No. 28 on the overall list.
"This pairing could skyrocket up the rankings, but since they’ve never been in this position before, they start from near the bottom.Â
"Mendoza comes into the NFL with the pressure applied to all No. 1 picks. He’s also coming off a perfect season in which he won the Heisman Trophy, the national championship and went undefeated with Indiana. After tossing a nation-high 41 touchdowns against six interceptions last year, he joins a Raiders team trying to win its first playoff game since January 2003.Â
"Meanwhile, Kubiak led Seattle’s offense to a Super Bowl title only four months ago as offensive coordinator. The unit produced the league’s top receiver, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the Super Bowl MVP and a 1,000-yard back, Kenneth Walker III, and quarterback Sam Darnold, who threw for 4,048 yards and 25 touchdowns. If Kubiak can get the trio of Mendoza, running back Ashton Jeanty and tight end Brock Bowers in sync, the Raiders can surprise."
Now, before we dive into the analysis, let us note that Las Vegas came in at No. 15 in last year's rankings with Geno Smith and Pete Carroll, so lists this early in the offseason don't often mean a lot. The NFL is a hard league to predict, and any number of things can happen this coming season.
But Verderame is right to say that, while the Raiders' young duo could ascend these rankings in no time, they have never been in the spot that they're in right now. Kubiak is still a first-time head coach, and Mendoza is a rookie. The future being bright doesn't mean the complexion immediately changes.
As Verderame noted, though, both Mendoza and Kubiak come to Las Vegas with quite a résumé, and therefore, a reason for fans and those around the league to believe that the Silver and Black could shock a lot of people, particularly if the aforementioned trio clicks on offense sooner than expected.
Still, No. 28 feels pretty low for the Raiders' tandem. After all, they're ranked behind duos like Dave Canales and Bryce Young, Robert Saleh and Cam Ward, and Kevin Stefanski and Michael Penix Jr. There's certainly an argument for Las Vegas to have already leapfrogged a few of these pairs.
Meanwhile, the Denver Broncos' Sean Payton and Bo Nix landed at No. 11, the Los Angeles Chargers' Justin Herbert and Jim Harbaugh at No. 4, and the Kansas City Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid were slotted in at No. 1. It is a tough hill to climb for the Raiders in the AFC West.
Hopefully, the Silver and Black's duo is not paying attention to stuff like this, and I'm sure they're not. They've got too much to do and are too engulfed in the offseason program. But if it comes across their desk somehow, hopefully, they're using it to light a fire under themselves.
28th won't cut it. But they shouldn't be 28th for very long, and perhaps they'll make serious headway on this list sooner than most folks realize.
Add us as a preferred source on Google