Las Vegas Raiders 2024 Season Preview
By: Michael Higgins
(Image courtesy of Chris Unger/Getty Images)
The Las Vegas Raiders are poised to be one of the worst teams in the NFL for the 2024 season. In a tough conference, in a tougher division, wins will be hard to come by.
Las Vegas went 8-9 in 2023, which feels like a huge overachievement. They have had some solid front 7s in the last few seasons, but they need to begin building the other parts of a championship roster. The first step in that direction for the Raiders was by officially naming Antonio Pierce their Head Coach. Rarely does the official hiring of an interim coach work out, so we will have to see how a full season goes.
In the offseason, the Raiders lost RB Josh Jacobs to free agency. Along with Jacobs, the Raiders parted ways with DL Bilal Nichols, WR Hunter Renfrow, and CB Amik Robertson. Not many significant losses occurred for the Raiders this offseason, maybe because they did not have many significant contributors.
Las Vegas managed to bring in a few guys, but were relatively quiet throughout the Spring. DT Christian Wilkins, QB Gardner Minshew, and RB Alexander Mattison all joined the team.
The Raiders aggressively attacked the offensive side of the ball in the draft. The first three picks of the draft should all be immediate contributors. TE Brock Bowers and IOL Jackson Powers-Johnson will both be starters while OT Delmar Glaze will be a nice swing tackle.
Looking ahead to the Raiders’ schedule, there should not be any expectations other than the development of young talent.
The Raiders have two road games to start the season, the Chargers and the Raiders. Then they play at home for two weeks against the Panthers and the Browns. The Raiders start the season 1-3.
They start October on the road against the Broncos before returning home to play the Steelers, then back on the road for a matchup against the Rams, and finally end the month at home against the Chiefs. I have the Raiders going 1-3 in October.
The month of November sees the Raiders travel to Cincinnati to play the Bengals before a Week 10 bye. After the bye, they go back on the road to play the Dolphins, home against the Broncos, and then a Black Friday game against the Chiefs in Kansas City. The Raiders go 1-3 in November.
The Raiders go to Tampa to play the Bucs in Week 14, come home to host the Falcons on Monday Night Football, followed by another home game against the Jaguars, a road date against the Saints, and then host the Chargers to end the season. The Raiders go 1-4 in this stretch.
I have the Las Vegas Raiders going 4-13 in 2024. This should not be a surprise due to the lack of talent on the roster. However, glimpses of promise should still be noticeable this year with the front seven and the receiving groups.
2023 Record: 8-9
2024 Prediction: 4-13
