The Las Vegas Raiders left minicamp last week confident they will be on the right page when training camp opens on July 23. Do they have all the answers? No. But you don’t have to in June.
It’s no secret that the Raiders’ two quarterbacks weren’t particularly sharp this spring. But to be honest, the Raiders aren’t looking for either Aidan O’Connell or Gardner Minshew to be great. That’s the defense’s goal. Coach Antonio Pierce perfectly encapsulated what should be the Raiders’ slogan:
“Don’t worry about our quarterbacks, worry about yours,” he said.
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The Raiders defense is locked and loaded. Maxx Crosby and company finished last season strong, returned nine starters and added one of the best defensive tackles in the NFL in Christian Wilkins. To give you an idea of his athleticism, Pierce said the 6-foot-4, 300-pound Wilkins was easily the team’s best basketball player when the Raiders recently went next door to practice with the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces.
The defensive line is loaded enough that Tyree Wilson, the seventh overall pick last year who is healthy and motivated, will be coming off the bench.
The offense, on the other hand, needs a winner in that quarterback battle and is replacing running back Josh Jacobs and two starting offensive linemen.
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Zamir White appears up to the challenge of being the bell cow, but Pierce and general manager Tom Telesco are taking a wait-and-see approach to the running backs. Former Minnesota Viking Alexander Mattison was signed as a free agent and Ameer Abdullah was brought back, but the Raiders could very well bring in another running back during training camp or off waivers afterward.
“Let’s say (White’s) running back A or B,” Pierce said. “(There’s) the physical demand of playing that position for 17 games, right? Let’s say he’s up into 200-300 carries. That’s going to be the most he’s had in a long time. … (But) he’s built right, and he’s a strong powerful man.”
White even surprised new offensive coordinator Luke Getsy with his wheels.
“There was a play the second week of OTAs, and we got to see that speed that he has,” Getsy said. “He creased it and took it (all the way), and that was pretty cool to see. He is a different cat. That is a speed that not many guys have. Pair that with the size that he has.”
Getsy thinks he has a complete running back corps.
“We have guys that can catch the ball out of the backfield, we have guys that can hit the perimeter,” he said. “And then we have Z, who can kind of do both and hit in inside and outside. I am excited to see where this thing goes.”
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White benefited a lot from the chance to play for the injured Jacobs last year and ran for 397 yards and a touchdown on 84 carries (4.7 ypc) over the final four games. Mattison never really broke through in five years with the Vikings, but he ran for a career-high 700 yards (on 180 carries) last year and will have an opportunity in camp to take some carries away from White.
”Just because (White has) got the job now, that doesn’t mean it can’t be taken,” Pierce said. “Alex Mattison is a really good football player, and that’s how I’m going to keep going about our team. .. If you have a bad play, it’s next-man-up mentality. So Zamir understands that — don’t get comfortable. And I think he’s done a really good job with that.”
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The Raiders are also installing a new offensive system and will be using a lot more wide zone scheme.
“That wide zone is pretty hard to stop,” Mattison said, “as long as the O-line gets running and we’re on our tracks and stay true to our aiming points. It’s one of those things that can terrorize a defense, so I’m excited about that part.”
Whether it’s White, Mattison or even Abdullah, running backs will need to get through contact up front and have the vision to see holes, sometimes before they open up all the way. Getsy, Pierce and Telesco will be watching.
“Training camp really tells you what a back is about,” Getsy said.
The Raiders offense will also have to get a boost from first-round pick Brock Bowers, the talented tight end who can also line up in the slot, outside or even at running back.
“He gets open, he catches the ball and he can turn quick 5-yard passes into explosive plays,” Minshew said.
Can’t wait to see this rookie TE get to work 😤@brockbowers17 | @Raiders pic.twitter.com/HbuHMVGH7r
— NFL (@NFL) June 12, 2024
The staff is also very excited about second-year players Tre Tucker, the deep threat at receiver, and tight end Michael Mayer.
The 5-foot-9 Tucker had 19 catches for 331 yards as a rookie and let some opportunities slip through his fingers.
“Tre Tucker is a different dude,” Pierce said. “He looks different, acts different, runs different, catches the ball different. Don’t look at the size; don’t mention that. Watch him play. He’s the biggest guy out there. He had a hell of an offseason: came back right after the offseason program, the Super Bowl, and got in here and started working and was here every day.”
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Mayer, meanwhile, didn’t need the Raiders drafting Bowers to light a fire under him. Coming off a toe injury, he has been training to improve his speed all offseason, and it shows. Mayer looks forward to lining up in two-tight-end sets with Bowers and said he has also continued to work hard on his blocking.
“I’d say about halfway through the season last year, my blocking really turned on, but those first seven or eight games, I really didn’t know what the heck I was doing out there,” Mayer said. “So, I’ve definitely gotten better at that. And then by strengthening my hips (and) my hammies, I’ve been able to become a little bit more twitchy — things like that.”
Ideally, guys like White, Mattison, Bowers, Tucker and Mayer step up, take some of the pressure off of receivers Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers and make things easier for O’Connell or Minshew.
Pierce often talks of superheroes, but he told the players Thursday that the Raiders’ superheroes — Crosby, Adams and now Wilkins — need help.
“Those superheroes need some other guys to put capes on. We need some more capes in that room,” Pierce said. “And it’s okay for Big Mike (Mayer) to step up. Brock Bowers … I don’t care about him being a rookie. We’re going to go when he’s ready to go.
“Alex Mattison, Zamir White, Ameer — we got a lot of guys this offseason who have really relished the role of competing and taking on that sense of ownership (where), like, I’m not going to wait for something to happen, I’m going to go make it happen. And that’s the difference I see in our team overall.”
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(Photo of Zamir White: Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
