The Las Vegas Raiders gave general manager Tom Telesco exactly one shot to get things right before firing him at the beginning of the offseason. Owner Mark Davis replaced him with John Spytek, a longtime executive for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and a former teammate of Tom Brady's.
Regardless of what the new brass does this season, they'll be stuck, by and large, with many of the choices that the previous regime made. Fortunately, their decisions were not all bad, as they left several promising pieces for Spytek and the Raiders to work with.
With this year's NFL Draft rapidly approaching, it is important to take stock of where the roster is so that the team has a better understanding of where to go from here. One component of that is looking back at how the 2024 class fared during their rookie seasons.
Re-grading the Las Vegas Raiders' 2024 draft class one year later
Bowers had a rookie season of epic proportions in 2024, setting several NFL and Raiders franchise records with his 112-catch, 1,194-yard, five-touchdown campaign. He was also named to the Pro Bowl roster and earned First-Team All-Pro honors as well, finishing second in Rookie of the Year Award voting behind Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels. Bowers should be a force on the Las Vegas offense for the next decade.
Powers-Johnson had a rough start to his career as he dealt with several nagging injuries during his first training camp. However, he played quite well for the Raiders at guard last year and even displayed some star power when the team moved him to center later in the season. With a healthy offseason and a year of NFL experience under his belt, Powers-Johnson should be an anchor on the Las Vegas offensive line for seasons to come.
Glaze was arguably the biggest surprise of the draft class, as many considered him to be a backup or a swing tackle in the NFL. However, he blossomed into a starting right tackle and put together a solid rookie campaign, ranking in the top third for overall performance grade, according to PFF. Glaze was good but not great last year, so the new regime is expected to bring in competition, but that does not take away from his above-average rookie season.
Richardson had an interesting rookie year as he missed the first five games of the season with an injury and then was thrust into a large role rather quickly after. While his statistics would indicate that he had a disastrous season, he put together a few solid performances against good receiver groups like the Bengals, Falcons and Rams. He did get embarrassed by Quentin Johnston in the final week of the season, but he showed enough in his first year for Raiders fans to latch onto and believe in.
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Eichenberg was one of the bigger disappointments from the draft class, as many expected him to break through and earn playing time in a thin linebacker room. However, he was inactive for several games and played just 80 defensive snaps all year, none of which came after Week 7. He was a solid contributor on special teams, but nothing jumped out and indicated to the staff or Raider Nation that this was a slam-dunk pick. Eichenberg will have the chance to remedy that in his sophomore campaign under a new regime, but he has a lot to work on, particularly in pass coverage.
Laube was another major disappointment for the fan base, as many believed the team had found a Christian McCaffrey-type player in the sixth round. However, Laube fumbled the ball on his lone carry during his rookie season. While it is difficult to hold just one play against him, the biggest gripe about Laube was that he did not have an impact in the kick return game like he was expected to. If he can carve out a role this year on special teams, a lot of his shortcomings will be forgiven, but his chances of contributing as a rusher will dwindle if the team selects Ashton Jeanty in the NFL Draft.
Taylor was hurt for the majority of the season and did not register a single defensive snap the entire year. He did play a lot on special teams, but did not record a single statistic in nine games.
Devonshire never appeared in a game for the Raiders as he spent the entire season on the practice squad. He signed a Futures/Reserve contract with the team, so he'll have another crack at making the roster this year.
Overall, Telesco's lone draft class with the Raiders was a mixed bag. While he hit on his first three selections, he failed to find any value in the later rounds. Hopefully, some of these players can turn things around in their second season and supplement what Spytek adds with the team's nine selections this year.