The Las Vegas Raiders have been a franchise defined by failed draft picks, poor coaching, and unprodutive on-field play for decades now. The issue has continued throughout multiple regimes and truly left the organization in a dark place, as they are arguably the worst team in the league again.
With just three weeks left in the 2025 NFL season, Las Vegas is 2-12 and does not appear likely to win another game. Losing out would only help the franchise in the long run, as they could land the first overall pick for the first time since the 2007 NFL Draft.
The Raiders badly need an influx of young talent on the roster, as the team has only four players they selected in the first round who are still with the team -- Kolton Miller, Tyree Wilson, Brock Bowers, and Ashton Jeanty.
Wilson, however, is in danger of not being back, as he continues to get lost in the shuffle of multiple leadership changes in Las Vegas.
Tyree Wilson continues to fall out of favor with the Raiders
Wilson, who Las Vegas selected seventh overall in the 2023 NFL Draft, is having yet another rough season. While he has appeared in all 14 games, he has recorded just 23 total tackles, six tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, four quarterback hits, one fumble recovery, and one pass defended.
After getting drafted to wreak havoc on opposing quarterbacks opposite Maxx Crosby, Wilson has just 10.0 career sacks in 47 games. He appeared in a career-low 8.7% of the defensive snaps on Sunday, as he was on the field for just six plays, also tying a career-low mark.
For a player who is supposed to be showing signs of ascension, if not stardom now, the fact that he is basically being benched is very troubling. Especially when he is losing playing time to Charles Snowden, who played a career-high 68.1% of the defensive snaps in Sunday's 31-0 blowout loss.
It wasn't exactly like Snowden played great, either, posting a 35.5 Pro Football Focus grade. The coaching staff's decision to give him reps over Wilson, however, shows that the organization may realize the sunk cost of their young pass rusher, and that they have no interest in developing Wilson.
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It is not all Wilson's fault, as the team is on their third head coach and general manager combo in his three seasons on the roster. Kicking him inside to defensive tackle could also give him new life. Still, it is impossible not to note that much of the fan base was against the pick at the time he was drafted.
While the popular choice in Raider Nation was Jalen Carter, it was understandable that the franchise chose not to go that route due to his legal issues leading up to the draft. There were, however, many other players on the board when Wilson was selected who have already shown signs of greatness.
Excluding Carter, there are at least 15 other players selected after Wilson -- Bijan Robinson, Darnell Wright, Peter Skoronski, Jahmyr Gibbs, Will McDonald IV, Christian Gonzalez, Jack Campbell, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Quentin Johnston, Zay Flowers, Jordan Addison, Dalton Kincaid, Anton Harrison, Bryan Breese, and Nolan Smith -- who have given their team more production.
While it is no guarantee that those players would have found the same success in Las Vegas, it is hard not to think about what could have been. Many of the names listed would fill a major need for the team right now, however, Las Vegas opted to draft a player based on upside rather than production.
Wilson still has three games, and presumably, another season, to turn things around. However, at this point, there is virtually no shot that the Raiders exercise his fifth-year option. Furthermore, he could very well be on his fourth coaching staff in as many seasons, making it even harder to envision him capitalizing on the upside that the team saw when they selected him so high in the 2023 NFL Draft.