The Lazy Raiders Narrative That Won’t Go Away

VOICE OF THE RAIDERS BREAKS IT DOWN

Jason Horowitz jumped back on the podcast after getting his first look at the Raiders during minicamp. We took a big-picture look at where the Raiders stand heading into the summer break, diving into Klint Kubiak’s approach behind the scenes, Kirk Cousins’ impact on the offense, Fernando Mendoza’s development, some key position battles to watch, and why Rob Leonard may be building one of the most versatile defenses we’ve seen in Las Vegas. We also hit on a handful of under-the-radar players who could wind up having much bigger roles than people realize. If you want a temperature check on where this team really is right now, this is the episode for you.

DO THEY REALLY NEED A WR?

It feels like every chance they get, the national media loves to say the Raiders need to sign a veteran wide receiver.

And look, I totally get it. On paper, they’ve got one of — if not the — most unproven wide receiver groups in the league. Many would even say it’s the worst group in football, and I think that’s a fair argument. But more than anything, it’s a room full of players who simply haven’t proven themselves yet. Part of that is their fault, and part of it isn’t.

Having said that, it still feels like a really lazy narrative to say they have to sign a veteran receiver.

We’ve talked about it on the podcast before, but after ESPN once again pushed the idea of adding a veteran to the room, I wanted to address it.

This really isn’t a knock on Stefon Diggs. Just look at what he did for Josh Allen and Drake Maye in recent years. The guy has seven 1,000-yard receiving seasons under his belt. But he’s also 32 years old and has had some off-the-field issues in one way, shape, or form over the past few years.

More importantly, the Raiders are building for the future. I know you guys are tired of hearing that, but if this is going to work long term, they have to establish a real foundation. And part of building that foundation is figuring out exactly what they have at wide receiver.

For starters, they can’t just punt on Jack Bech and Dont’e Thornton Jr. after one year, especially given the limited sample size we saw from both players last season. You have to give those guys another opportunity before moving on.

Then there’s Jalen Nailor, whom they signed to a three-year, $35 million deal this offseason. They didn’t bring him in to be a placeholder. They brought him in because they believe he can thrive with a larger workload after spending most of his career as the No. 3 receiver behind Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison in Minnesota.

Bringing in a veteran to take snaps away from Nailor — and from whatever roles Bech and Thornton ultimately earn — would defeat the purpose of what they’re trying to build.

That also doesn’t account for Tre Tucker, whom they clearly like, or Malik Benson, who’s now part of the mix as well. Benson stood out in the offseason practices, too.

You have to get those guys on the field and figure out who can be part of the core once this team is truly ready to compete.

We also can’t forget that Brock Bowers will be the funnel in this offense.

That could mean 150-plus targets per season. Jaxon Smith-Njigba saw more than 160 targets in Seattle last year. Brock won’t inherit all of that workload because he’s a tight end, but he’s an elite receiving threat and, when healthy, should absolutely be in that 150-plus target range.

After that, the target distribution becomes a sliding scale.

Cooper Kupp and AJ Barner saw 70 and 68 targets, respectively, in Seattle last season. You’d imagine the Raiders want to funnel those opportunities to Jalen Nailor and Tre Tucker.

And that’s not even factoring in Ashton Jeanty.

Kubiak specifically brought up Christian McCaffrey when discussing the type of role he envisions for Jeanty. When healthy, McCaffrey routinely gets 100-plus receiving targets a year.

Again, the math just doesn’t add up.

Between Bowers, Jeanty, Nailor, Tucker, Bech, Thornton, Benson, and Michael Mayer, there are only so many opportunities to go around. Adding an aging veteran receiver — especially one you’d have to pay a decent amount of money for — doesn’t really align with what this team is trying to accomplish.

I could absolutely be wrong here, but bringing in a veteran this season just doesn’t make much sense to me. It also doesn’t track with what this staff has both said and shown us about their long-term plan.

I think the smarter move is to roll into the season with the group you have now and then address wide receiver next offseason — preferably through the draft, which would be my first choice — or free agency when I believe they’ll actually be in position to make a legitimate run at a playoff spot.

I know you guys are tired of being told to be patient. I get it. You’ve been waiting long enough.

But if one more season of patience helps them build a foundation the right way for the future, that feels like a pretty fair trade-off.

Easier said than done, though. I know.

MISS ANYTHING?

Catch up on some of our recent stories:

JEANTY PRIMED FOR A MASSIVE YEAR?

@silverandblacksportsnet

MASSIVE year incoming for Jeanty? #Raiders #AshtonJeanty #RaiderNation

I mentioned Ashton above, and we’ve talked about him a ton already. Just look at what he did in last year’s mess. He nearly topped the 1,000-yard rushing mark despite playing in a disjointed offense behind an offensive line that struggled all season.

Now, he’s got a proven playcaller, a proven offensive line coach, and what should be an improved room up front thanks to the addition of Tyler Linderbaum and the ripple effect that should have on the rest of the offensive line.

Add it all up, and I think it points to a big year for him.

But as Jason Horowitz noted, don’t forget about Dylan Laube in that running back room. Jeanty will be the guy — don’t get it twisted. We also really like Mike Washington Jr. But everyone seems to be penciling undrafted rookie free agent Roman Hemby in as the third running back. To that we say, not so fast.

FANSHOTZ FRIDAY

“FanShotz Friday”

By now, you have seen the phenomenal photos we’ve been using in many of our newsletters. They’re some of the best shots you’ll find of your favorite team, captured through the lens of our friend Arnie Bazemore of Fanshotz.com. Every Friday, we’ll feature Arnie’s favorite Raiders shot of the week that he captures at practice or on game day.

This week, we’re featuring a shot Arnie snagged of Fernando Mendoza during minicamp last week.

Ryan Hoag and I talked about it on the podcast when we wrapped up our minicamp observations, but Mendoza had an up-and-down day to close things out. And as I noted then, that’s totally fine.

Some folks tried to turn that into clickbait, calling him a bust already or making more of it than they should. The kid should struggle at times.

Every time you talk to his teammates or coaches, they all say the same thing: Mendoza does a great job of not repeating mistakes. So I say, make all the mistakes you want this time of year — and honestly, through portions of training camp, too. Let him take those lumps and expose the areas that need improvement.

He’s already shown he has the approach and attention to detail needed to clean things up. Now he’s got until late July to analyze his first few months as a pro and make the necessary adjustments heading into training camp.

The way I see it, the more he struggles in the offseason, the more prepared he’ll be when the competition, and real games actually start.

Check out Arnie’s work at his site linked above and reach out if you’re interested in working with him. He’s a great guy and has been so supportive of me over the years when I was at NBC here in Vegas, and he’s come along for the ride with Silver & Black Sports Network, too.

WHAT’S NEXT?

A little R&R.

This time of year, things slow down a bit before training camp, so I’m trying to take advantage of it and enjoy the breaks when they come. I hope you guys do, too, because once camp kicks off in late July, we’re going to be rockin’ and rollin’ all the way through January.

We’ll catch you back on the podcast Tuesday at 10 a.m. PT.

Catch ya next time,