SIlver Minings: ESPN deems Raiders’ roster as average

Analytics look is a bit lackluster

The excitement in the Raider Nation about the 2022 season is sky high.

For good reason. The Raiders are coming off a playoff season, they added offensive guru Josh McDaniels as head coach, traded for star wide receiver Davante Adams and signed top pass-rusher Chandler Jones. The Raiders certainly look primed to make a long playoff run this season.

However, not everyone is sold. ESPN analyst Mike Clay released a position-by-position grades for every team on both sides of the ball. The Raiders came in as the 15th best offense and the 19th best defense in and came in ranked 19th the NFL in Clay’s grading system.

Clay has the Raiders ranked as the ninth best team in the NFL. Of course, seven teams advance to the playoffs. The AFC is certainly stacked, but the Raiders made moves to remain a playoff team. The challenge will be steep, but ranking aside, the team appears ready to compete.

Other Raiders links:

• From a Raider to an official: Mike Morton, who was drafted as a linebacker in 1995 by the Raiders and spent four seasons with the team, is now an NFL official. Good for him.
• Ugly numbers: There were 11 of the 31 eligible (one player had previously been cut) 2019 first-round draft picks who didn’t have their fifth-year option exercised. Three of them were Raiders.
• Good scheme fit: The Athletic looked at 10 great scheme fits for drafted players. Raiders’ third-round pick, offensive lineman Dylan Parham, made the cut.
• High praise: Former Raiders running back Maurice Jones-Drew compares Las Vegas fourth-round draft pick Zamir White to the great Adrian Peterson. That would be something.