Las Vegas Raiders: Estimating how much time the rookies should get in the preseason

The preseason slate is here which means the couch coaches and general managers will be the judge, jury, and executioners to how well or poorly the Las Vegas Raiders rookie class is developing. The franchise has their work cut out for them to get back to the playoffs and vie for championships.

Year two of the McDaniels/Ziegler era has got to get off on the right foot to do that.

Estimating how much time the Raiders rookies will get in the preseason

Tyree Wilson: Unavailable. We might have to wait until 2024 till we see Wilson in a Raider uniform at 100%.

Michael Mayer: Mayer should get a series or two at the start, but increase to about two quarters or so in week two. Resting him in week three with the rest of the starters could be the way to go. He's the most valuable rookie at this moment and to risk an injury would be a huge blow to the offense.

Byron Young: Starting Young would be a wise move, but the coaches will probably have different plans for him since the depth at tackle is lengthy.

Tre Tucker: Tucker should play as much as possible in all three weeks. He needs the reps at receiver especially.

Jakorian Bennett: Bennett looks like he will start opposite Marcus Peters on day one, so playing him early and often is the only move here.

Aidan O'Connell: Playing O'Connell at least three quarters in every game would be my move, but I'm just a fan. Keeping Jimmy Garoppolo healthy is the key, so sitting him for most of the preseason will likely Josh McDaniels' decision.

Brian Hoyer doesn't necessarily need the experience that O'Connell does, but both he and Garoppolo have to gel with the rest of the offense. Chase Garbers will likely see the field too.

Christopher Smith II: The Georgia product should see lots of time. Starting him over Marcus Epps and Tre'von Moehrig to see if he can live up to the hype.

Amari Burney: Burney has a lot to prove so starting him as much as possible to see if he can hack it on special teams during the regular season could be in the plans for him.

Nesta Jade Silvera: Playing Jade Silvera for a couple of quarters in the preseason to get him some backup reps would carve out a role for him.

The common theme here would be to play the defensive picks as much as humanly feasible. They need the experience and the rest of the defensive starters need all the help they can get from their reserves. Altogether these guys will have a large congregation of eyes on them throughout the entire preseason to see if they can make the defense and the club better immediatley.