The Las Vegas Raiders will host the San Francisco 49ers for joint practices Thursday and Friday before their preseason game on Sunday. The 49ers get to see Jimmy Garoppolo again, and the Raiders will be able to spot Clelin Ferrell on the opposing sideline, but let’s leave the revenge game storylines out of the discussion for exhibition games.
As we all know, wins and losses aren’t the most important aspect of preseason games. Coaches want to see young players develop and test their skills against opponents other than their teammates on the practice field.
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As spectators, we’ll get a good sense of who may be able to win starting jobs and contribute during the regular season.
Last year, Luke Masterson earned a roster spot with a strong showing in the preseason, capping off his impressive summer with an interception against the New England Patriots in the Raiders’ preseason finale.
With widespread turnover on the defensive side of the ball, new faces at key positions and the absence of Josh Jacobs, the Raiders have plenty of questions to answer in the preseason. We’ll examine the biggest roster question marks that the team could answer over the next few weeks.
Can Aidan O’Connell earn the coaching staff’s trust?
The Raiders will turn the offense over to Garoppolo this season, but his injury history suggests that his backup has a good chance to start at least a few games. Garoppolo has only played in more than 11 games twice in five years as a full-time starter for the 49ers, which means Brian Hoyer, Aidan O’Connell and Chase Garbers better be ready to play.
This year, Vegas let quarterback Jarrett Stidham walk out of the door to the Denver Broncos in free agency, which leaves a void for the primary backup job. The club signed Hoyer and moved up in the fourth round of the draft for O’Connell.
Yes, Hoyer knows head coach Josh McDaniels’ system, but he’s only started in two games in this offense, and he’s turning 38 years old in October. If O’Connell moves the ball well in the preseason, don’t be surprised if the team wants to see the rookie on the field over the veteran if Garoppolo has to sit out a few games.
O’Connell doesn’t move well in the pocket, but he does have an NFL arm that can stretch the field. Hopefully, McDaniels allows him to uncork a few deep balls to his receivers. As a spot starter, O’Connell can bring a bit of a spark to the Raiders’ vertical passing game.
In 2021, O’Connell averaged 8.4 yards per pass attempt. For context, only Tua Tagovailoa averaged more than 8.4 yards per pass attempt last season thanks to wideouts Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle racking up a combined 992 yards after the catch.
Is Zamir White ready for a bigger workload?
According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Jacobs isn’t going to rejoin the team “anytime soon.” He’s yet to sign his $10.1 million franchise tender. The Raiders’ young running backs will have a chance to show they’re capable of handling a significant workload.
Before the Raiders and Jacobs hit a roadblock in negotiations, The Athletic’s Tashan Reed expected Zamir White to get more touches in the upcoming season. His prediction makes even more sense now, though fellow 2022 draftmate Brittain Brown could also see more action in the lead-up to the regular season.
Levi Damien of Raiders Wire spoke to running backs coach Kennedy Polamalu, who praised Brandon Bolden’s veteran leadership and his influence on White and Brown.
Last week, the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vincent Bonsignore noted that Brown had a “lower-body issue” and left practice early. With Brown’s status unclear and Austin Walter on injured reserve, Sincere McCormick may be the only other young ball-carrier to split carries with White.
Nonetheless, as a fourth-round pick from last year’s draft, White will likely get every opportunity to showcase himself in the preseason as Jacobs’ potential replacement or his complementary running mate.
How do the slot wide receivers respond to competition?
The Raiders have a surplus of slot wide receivers with the addition of Jakobi Meyers, DeAndre Carter and rookie third-rounder Tre Tucker joining Hunter Renfrow in that group.
Meyers will probably line up on the outside more frequently than he did during his time with the New England Patriots, which leaves Renfrow, Carter and Tucker competing for most of the snaps in the slot.
Meyers aside, Renfrow has the biggest contract with the most snaps played among the group. Barring a trade, he’s going to have a decent role—albeit at a reduced capacity compared to recent years if Carter and Tucker make the 53-man roster.
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Renfrow could use competition for his position as motivation despite the fact that he’ll bank $10.8 million in guaranteed money this year.
Carter could be second in the pecking order among slot receivers, though he can also carve out a kick and punt return role on special teams. Tucker has flashed throughout training camp. If he continues to make plays in the preseason, the rookie could be more than a luxury gadget player and make one of the veteran slot wideouts expendable.
Who’s the favorite to start at right guard?
In one of his five takeaways from the first 10 training camp practices, The Athletic’s Vic Tafur said Greg Van Roten is “starting to push” Alex Bars for the starting right guard spot.
Van Roten has a wealth of starting experience, opening 54 career games with starting offensive lines in Carolina, New York (Jets) and Buffalo. Vegas didn’t sign him until mid-May, but the 11th-year veteran caught on quickly, and he could emerge as the starter by the end of the summer.
Tafur also mentioned undrafted guard McClendon Curtis, who’s a dark-horse candidate to win the job.
“The 6-foot-6, 325-pound guard has handled himself well in one-on-one blocking drills and has picked things up quickly,” Tafur wrote. “It’s fun to see him constantly working on his feet and hand placement when coaches are talking to the group on the sideline.”
Coming out of Chattanooga with 30 starts at right guard, Curtis could fill the last offensive line spot up for grabs. Don’t sleep on him.
Who’s going to make a case to start alongside Divine Deablo?
Divine Deablo has sported the green dot on his helmet during practices. He’s projected to become the leader of a relatively inexperienced linebacker unit.
The Raiders signed Robert Spillane, who’s a sixth-year pro, but he struggled mightily in passing situations last year, allowing a 109.2 passer rating in coverage. If defensive coordinator Patrick Graham has to take him off the field in those scenarios, one of the younger linebackers can fill a void alongside Deablo.
Last year, Masterson and Darien Butler made the 53-man roster as undrafted rookies. This year, the Raiders selected Amari Burney, a former safety, in the sixth round of the draft.
Because of Burney’s background as a defensive back, he could see the field in nickel or dime packages, floating between the linebacker and safety spots.
Burney finished his collegiate career at Florida with 12 pass breakups and four interceptions. Perhaps he’s the next unheralded linebacker to find his way on the Raiders’ final roster.
Will Jakorian Bennett earn a starting role?
Jakorian Bennett has been the star of Raiders training camp. Multiple reporters have raved about his performances over the past couple of weeks.
Bennett can turn his training camp hype into a preseason freight train of hope. He needs to hold on to those would-be interceptions though.
If Bennett turns more pass breakups into interceptions in the exhibition games, he could lock up a starting job on the boundary, assuming Nate Hobbs slides back into the slot cornerback spot.
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At Maryland, Bennett frequently made plays on the ball, logging five interceptions and 23 pass breakups over the past two years. He has 4.3-second 40-yard speed and the athleticism to keep pace with dynamic receivers downfield.
Now, Bennett needs to consistently finish plays with the ball in his hands. Even without the takeaways, he’s generated a ton of buzz as a potential Day 1 starter. The Raiders may have found a fourth-round steal who will immediately elevate their pass defense.
Can the secondary maintain its ball-hawking mentality?
Bennett is a big part of the Raiders’ rejuvenated secondary along with Marcus Peters, who’s set to start on the boundary. Peters, Bennett and Hobbs could be the starting cornerback trio for Graham’s nickel defense in Week 1.
This offseason, the Raiders have focused on creating turnovers—something they’ve struggled to do, specifically in pass defense. They’ve recorded just 12 interceptions over the last two years. That’s why it made sense for the front office to sign Peters, who has 32 career interceptions, and why fans should be excited about the new energy Bennett brings to the back end of the defense.
If the Raiders defense can force more takeaways, the unit can stay fresh and avoid being on the field for close to 40 minutes in a game and give the offense more possessions to score points.
We probably won’t see Peters on the field in the preseason, but Bennett, safety Tre’von Moehrig and the rest of the young group of defensive backs can carry over its ball-hawking mentality into live game action.
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Maurice Moton covers the Raiders for Sportsnaut. You can follow him on Twitter at @MoeMoton.