Opinions around the NFL media on the Las Vegas Raiders are not high. You'd be hard-pressed to find a power ranking that has them in the top 25. However, that could be chalked up to Antonio Pierce's lack of experience as a head coach and the instability at the quarterback position.
However, ESPN took it a step further by saying the Raiders' future also doesn't look bright. In fact, they believe the Raiders have the ugliest future of any team in the NFL. Dan Graziano, Louis Riddick and Aaron Schatz were asked to put together future power rankings for every NFL team. This took into account what the team will look like through the next three seasons.
The Raiders came in dead last at No. 32.
"The Raiders needed a franchise QB to build around, and they tried desperately to get into position in the draft to select one," Riddick wrote in the 'reasons to be concerned' section. "But six were off the board by the time they were drafting at No. 13, meaning they will enter this season with Gardner Minshew and Aidan O'Connell. Simply put, they have no chance for sustained success in the AFC West -- or the conference as a whole -- without a franchise passer."
Riddick used to play for the Raiders and is usually one of the few defenders of the franchise in the media. If he thinks the team is in a tough position, it's worth listening to. That said, these rankings are placing far too much value on one position - quarterback.
I'd much rather be the Raiders than the New York Giants or the Carolina Panthers. I'd also take them over the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots over the next three seasons. All of those teams have unproven quarterbacks and were worse than the Raiders last season.
The thing with the Raiders is that they're constantly disrespected in the media but it's on them to change that. Until they become a consistent playoff team, they're going to keep getting slighted in lists like this.