There aren’t many teams in the NFL that had a better offseason than the Las Vegas Raiders. Vegas hired a Super-Bowl winning coach, traded for a Pro Bowl quarterback, and drafted an elite running back prospect that everyone wanted the team to land. That’s why it’s no surprise ESPN’s Bill Barnwell gave the Raiders the “most likely to improve” superlative in a recent piece evaluating every AFC team’s offseason.
In addition to the offseason acquisitions, Barnwell explained that Las Vegas should improve some off the fact that it’s hard to be as bad as it was in a few specific departments. Even if the previous weaknesses don’t become strengths for the Raiders, they’ll likely improve some, which will help the team move in the right direction.
"Beyond the personnel improvements, though, there were already reasons to believe in a Raiders improvement. They were tied for the league's second-worst turnover margin at minus-16, a figure that usually regresses back toward the mean (and improves a team's record as a result). They recovered only 24.2% of the fumbles that hit the ground last season (eight of 33), the worst recovery rate for any team since 2011. Vegas also had only four players start all 17 games, with key contributors such as defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, edge rusher Maxx Crosby and cornerback Nate Hobbs missing meaningful time because of injuries."Bill Barnwell (ESPN)
So between the natural improvements, and all the new players and coaches, Barnwell is confident Las Vegas will be a much better team. Unfortunately, he still isn’t convinced the franchise did enough to make the postseason in 2025, saying that may be a bridge too far.
This is a brutally honest assessment, because the Raiders were really bad last season, winning just four games. That means the team could double its win total and add one, and still be a game short of the playoffs. That just speaks to how far Vegas has to go.
The good news, though, is that the Raiders can prove Barnwell wrong, and he acknowledges that. He points out how Vegas was also just unlucky in 2024, so a few balls bouncing the team’s way in 2025 could help them get into the postseason.
Maybe the team is actually ready to take a bigger leap than everyone expects. Maybe all the new acquisitions will fall into place much faster than expected, and Las Vegas will be a competitive team. That will all be determined on the field in the fall.