The bye week allows injured NFL players time to recover and it could also be what allowed the Las Vegas Raiders to make necessary changes to come out strong beginning in Week 7.
First and foremost, head coach Josh McDaniels must sort out his offensive line. Regardless of his declaration that seven guys have earned snaps, five guys need to build strong chemistry together if he wants a cohesive unit to perform at its best. You cannot accomplish that with linemen in and out of the lineup and playing multiple positions week to week.
Secondly, the Raiders can get more from their role players, whom they’ve underutilized through the first five games. The team needs to lighten the workload of one of his top offensive playmakers and generate more pressure on the defensive front.
In conjunction with a more consistent pass rush, one defensive back, who’s on the mend, could strengthen a pass defense that’s allowed a 68.5 percent completion rate (fifth-worst leaguewide) and 11 touchdowns in five contests (ranked 30th leaguewide).
Related: Las Vegas Raiders schedule
Let’s dive into some changes that the Raiders can implement starting with Week 7 against the Houston Texans.
Thayer Munford Jr. plays right tackle from start to finish
The Raiders have tinkered with their offensive line through five outings—only left tackle Kolton Miller has started in every game at the same position. When healthy, Andre James has exclusively played center. While he missed two games because of a concussion, rookie third-rounder Dylan Parham filled in at the pivot.
Don’t be surprised if the Raiders make a permanent shift on the right side of the line to build some continuity.
Back in the preseason, Thayer Munford Jr. generated buzz as a potential long-term option at right tackle after the front office waived 2021 first-rounder Alex Leatherwood, per Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The rookie seventh-rounder made the most of his opportunities through the summer—enough that he’s split snaps with Jermaine Eluemunor at right tackle.
Thus far, Eluemunor has played more snaps (183) than Munford (151) at right tackle, per Pro Football Focus, but the coaching staff may go all-in on the latter’s upside and keep him in the starting role for the foreseeable future.
Over the last three games, Eluemunor has committed five penalties. Meanwhile, Munford drew one flag in that time span. He committed three of his four penalties in the first two weeks of the season, which illustrates his improvement in recent outings. If the Raiders want to cut down on unforced errors, they may go with the rookie over the veteran as a starter out of the bye.
Jermaine Eluemunor permanently shifts to right guard
If the coaching staff permanently inserts Munford into the starting lineup at right tackle, Eluemunor could move inside, which would bump Alex Bars back to a reserve role.
The Raiders cut Bars this summer before they set their final 53-man roster, but because of the team’s unwillingness to keep John Simpson in the first unit, the versatile offensive lineman has started two games at left guard and one contest at right guard when Parham shifted to left guard against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 5.
Related: Las Vegas Raiders’ Davante Adams unlikely to face discipline in near future
As an interior lineman, Bars has allowed six pressures, per PFF; he’s clearly a backup who can line up in multiple positions. Eluemunor isn’t a massive upgrade over him, but the 27-year-old has more starting experience and opened with the first unit at right guard in Week 3 against the Tennessee Titans. Perhaps Eluemunor can clean up his penalties in a steady role as opposed to a rotation with Munford at right tackle.
Increased pass-catching opportunities for Ameer Abdullah
Think back to the offseason for a moment. Remember, when the Raiders had a crowded running back room filled with players who possess different skill sets?
Related: Week 7 fantasy football rankings
While running back Josh Jacobs has played at his best over the last three weeks, McDaniels has to be careful with the physical back’s durability.
Not only has Jacobs handled the majority of the rushing workload (91 carries for 490 yards and three touchdowns), but he’s also caught 17 out of 18 targets for 129 yards. McDaniels may want to divvy up the touches, particularly in the short passing game.
The Raiders kept Ameer Abdullah out of most of the preseason because he reportedly locked up the James White pass-catching role, per the MMQB’s Albert Breer:
However, Abdullah has only caught one pass for 23 yards while on the field for 22 offensive snaps this season. Meanwhile, 32-year-old Brandon Bolden has eight catches for 53 yards and a touchdown.
Thus far, as a Raider, Abdullah has made his biggest contributions on special teams, returning three kicks for 56 yards. As a younger tailback than Bolden, with a little more juice, Abdullah should be more involved in the passing attack, which would give Jacobs a bit of breather and preserve him for the length of the season.
Related: NFL offense rankings
For comparison, Abdullah has caught at least 25 passes in three seasons, and Bolden has one such campaign (last year).
Anthony Averett takes on expanded role on the boundary of secondary
We haven’t seen much of Anthony Averett because he broke his thumb in the team’s season-opening loss to the Los Angeles Chargers and underwent surgery.
Still on injured reserve, Averett isn’t on the active roster. Nonetheless, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the cornerback faced a month-long recovery, which means the Raiders may activate him soon:
Las Vegas may need Averett back on the field sooner than later. Nate Hobbs revealed that he played with a broken hand in Week 5 against the Chiefs. Though he earned his stripes for toughness, Patrick Mahomes went after him throughout the game, targeting the bang-up cornerback nine times and completing seven of those passes for 119 yards, per PFF.
With Hobbs on injured reserve (out for at least four games), the Raiders will need Amik Robertson and undrafted rookie Sam Webb to play bigger roles if Averett isn’t back on the field.
Related: Police report filed against Las Vegas Raiders’ Davante Adams
Last year, with the Baltimore Ravens, Averett performed well in his first chance to play in a full-time starting position mostly on the boundary. He led the Ravens in interceptions (three) and broke up 11 passes while allowing a 55.4 percent completion rate and a 77.5 passer rating in coverage. The 27-year-old’s return could be a significant boost for the Raiders’ 24th-ranked pass defense.
More defensive snaps for Clelin Ferrell
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Raiders have discussed trades involving safety Johnathan Abram and Clelin Ferrell. Perhaps the coaching staff showcases the latter following the bye week since he’s played sparingly in recent years.
Quietly, Ferrell has played well with limited snaps. Don’t look for basic defensive statistics to prove or disprove that statement. He has just four tackles in five games this season.
However, Ferrell has recorded five quarterback hurries while on the field for just 34 percent of the defensive snaps in 2022.
Let’s keep something in mind about the interior of Vegas’ defensive line—it needs someone who can provide a more consistent push up the middle. Though Ferrell takes most of his snaps outside of the tackle (62), he’s also logged 25 snaps in the B-gap, per PFF.
Because of defensive tackle Bilal Nichols’ underwhelming start to the season on a two-year, $11 million contract ($7.1 million guaranteed), we could see him cede more snaps to Ferrell, who has extra motivation to make an impact before he hits free agency in 2023.
The Raiders desperately need more push up the middle to complement their edge-rushers. Ferrell isn’t going to play up to his $10 million salary this year, but he can generate some pressure on the interior in sub-packages.
If Ferrell does enough to generate legitimate trade interest, Ziegler would have the decision to keep him as a solid role player or trade the 2019 first-rounder and a portion of his sizeable 2022 salary for future draft capital.
Maurice Moton covers the Las Vegas Raiders for Sportsnaut. You can follow him on Twitter at @MoeMoton.