ESPN drops telling rankings of Raiders WRs, TEs & RBs

ESPN staff writer Bill Barnwell recently released his rankings for the wide receivers, tight ends, and running backs on each NFL team. The Las Vegas Raiders were ranked 23rd, a slight decline from their ranking of 11th place the previous season.

A bright spot in this would be that the Raiders were ranked second in the AFC West, behind the 14th-ranked Kansas City Chiefs. The final two AFC West teams, the Denver Broncos (30th) and Los Angeles Chargers (32nd), were ranked in the bottom three of the league.

Davante Adams

The Raiders fell from 11th to 23rd in these rankings primarily due to the loss of Josh Jacobs, the NFL's rushing leader for 2022, to Green Bay and the uncertainty surrounding the running back room. Another reason Barnwell also stated was the possible decline in output from 31-year-old Davante Adams, a star wide receiver who will play in his 11th NFL season. Barnwell had some concerning comments about Adams.

“We might have seen Davante Adams begin his decline," Barnwell wrote. "The star wideout dropped off by nearly 400 yards from his first season with the Raiders in 2022 despite getting nearly as many targets over 17 games. The quarterback play didn't help, of course, but it's not as if he is going to be playing with Aaron Rodgers again in 2024. As I wrote about when Adams was traded, the track record of elite wideouts entering their 30s suggests teams can't count on them maintaining their All-Pro level for long. He is still very good, but 2023 was his worst season in a half-decade.”

In my opinion, the reason why Adams's numbers were below his average in 2023 had less to do with the receiver's decline and more to do with the quarterback's poor performance, which Barnwell did elude to. Any receiver's production could be hampered by the Raiders' mid-season switch from Jimmy Garoppolo to rookie Aidan O'Connell at quarterback, on top of a turbulent season.

Additionally, when both quarterbacks targeted Adams, their combined rating was 79.3, the lowest of any quarterback in Adams' career. Adams nevertheless, was still able to place among the NFL's top 10 receivers in terms of both receptions (103) and touchdowns (eight).

Running Backs

As for the running back position, whether Zamir White starts as the lead back or, like in the case of offensive coordinator Luke Getsy's tenure with the Bears, is used more as a running back by committee, the Raiders' ability to replicate Jacobs' production will be crucial to the success of the offense.

The ability to run the ball is a facet of the Getsy offense, and it will not only be vital to the offensive strategy but could be vital to opening up the passing game as well. The offensive line has been bolstered by the team this offseason, which should aid in the success of the run game. During training camp, we will have to pay attention to the play of the running backs, and how they are utilized.

Brock Bowers & Michael Mayer

Though there are high expectations and tremendous potential, the tight end position on this Raiders offense is still more of a mystery. Although Brock Bowers, the 13th overall pick in this year's draft, is extremely gifted and has a huge amount of potential and versatility, we will have to wait and see how the rookie performs as he has yet to take an NFL snap.

Michael Mayer, who will begin his second season, is another key figure in the tight end room. Like Powers, he possesses a great deal of talent and promise, but has a certain amount of unknown surrounding him. Similar to the running back situation, we'll have to wait and see how Getsy and this Raiders offense decide to use these two talented tight ends.