The Las Vegas Raiders mandatory minicamp took place from June 11-13. The team was given the third and final day of practice off by head coach Antonio Pierce, so this is what we gathered from the two days of practice.
Defense & Jakorian Bennett make headlines
Above all, the defense continued to dominate the field and picked up where they left off during OTAs. A great defensive line anchored by Wilkins and Crosby led the way for two days of impressive practice from this defense. By all accounts, this defense plays fast every time they take the field and appears to be clicking right away.
Second-year Cornerback Jakorian Bennett, who recorded multiple interceptions over the course of two practice days, was another highlight for this defense. Bennett appears to be the front-runner to take the third spot on the depth chart at cornerback for the Raiders. If we see Bennett take that next step this year, this could add a whole new dimension to an already impressive Raiders defense.
Offensive struggles while Dylan Laube turns heads
There were numerous reports about how much the offense appeared to struggle. There could be a number of reasons for this, such as playing against one of the league's top defenses, adjusting to a new system, being in the middle of a quarterback competition, or having the best offensive lineman (Kolton Miller) miss time with an injury.
Learning a new offense is likely the largest factor contributing to the early struggles, so for the time being there is no need to worry. One of the bright spots for the offense was rookie running back Dylan Laube, who was impressive once again throughout minicamp. Laube was one of the offense's bright spots. He continued to impress during minicamp. During rookie camp, the sixth-round pick began to draw attention, and he carried the strong play into OTAs and minicamp.
With an emphasis on being used as a dual threat, pass-catching back, Laube received reps with the starting offense. Should Laube's play continue in this direction, he could eat into Ameer Abudallah's role.
Summary
The Raiders have some young, talented players who are showing promise, the defense is looking extremely strong, and the offense is going through early growing pains as it adjusts to a new system while facing competition at quarterback. Reports regarding the offense's performance are probably going to be much better in the future once a starting quarterback is selected and the offense gets more practice under the new scheme.