Raiders tanking guide: The route to the No. 1 overall pick

The Basics

The simplest concept is probably the hardest to stomach for most of Raider Nation: the Raiders have to lose every game.

This defies the franchise's motto, "Just Win Baby" but sometimes you have to take losses in the short term to build a winning franchise again.

There is exactly one way to guarantee the top pick in the NFL Draft, and that is to have the worst record in the entire league. Winning meaningless games this season likely won't help the organization as much as the No. 1 overall pick would.

Now, these fans should hope that every Sunday is miserable as Las Vegas can lose close games and be competitive; they just shouldn't win if they want a top pick.

Younger players who project to be a part of the team's future are hopefully still making big plays and growing in these games.

But any player who does not figure to be a part of the Raiders' future plans (Gardner Minshew, Zamir White, etc) are ideally the individuals who are costing Las Vegas ballgames in this scenario.

NFL teams are not allowed to openly tank and lose games, nor would Antonio Pierce and Co. want to. Their jobs are at stake and a 2-15 record could cost them their livelihood.

But if Pierce and the staff have an opportunity to sit players out who are banged up and protect some of the franchise's top assets, they should definitely do so if they are thinking toward next year.

In summary, if the Raiders can put their youngest and healthiest players on the field for the latter half of the season but still find ways to lose games, then that is the best-case scenario for those who favor the idea of tanking.

It may be difficult, but Raider fans have been through a lot worse.