Top Raiders to Watch in Preseason Opener + Bennett-for-Booker Trade Analysis

WHAT TO WATCH FOR IN THE PRESEASON OPENER VS. SEATTLE

The Raiders hit the road for their preseason opener up in Seattle, but when they get there, who are we going to see out on the field? Will the starters actually play?

In other words, tune in on Thursday night.

My take? I think we'll see the starters for at least a series or two on Thursday. Historically, Pete hasn’t been one to play his starters all that much in the preseason, but this feels different. Not only is he in a new place, but Geno is new to the Raiders and his playcaller, Chip Kelly. Yeah, they got a chance to get a run through their system in the mock game at Allegiant Stadium last weekend, but I’d imagine Pete wants to give his guys a shot to do that on the road, too. Given that the next game is at home agianst the 49ers and the preseason finale is alsmost always reserved for the reserves, and guys fighting for a roster spot, I think this will be the only time the starters get a chance to go through a real game type run through on the road before they do it for real against the Patriots in week one.

Whether he does play or not, Geno said he’s excited to return to Seattle and see some familiar faces.

Who should we keep an eye on?

Here are some quick hitters on players who should see a decent amount of playing time in the preseason opener:

• We can’t not include Ashton Jeanty on this list. I think he only plays a series or two with Geno. But you have to get your back a couple of real, live reps before the season starts. What he does in limited action will be intriguing, and if he pops one, the hype train might look more like a bullet train after this game.

• Dont’e Thornton Jr. and Jack Bech. Dont’e didn’t practice much on Tuesday; in fact, I don’t recall him taking any reps in team drills. I asked Pete about it after practice, and he said Dont’e isn’t hurting, they just “slowed him down.” That sounds like a young guy who will get at least a quarter’s worth of action in the preseason opener, even if they are counting on him to be one of their top three receivers. Second-round pick Jack Bech has consistently worked with the twos throughout training camp, and his game started to shine once the pads came on. He got mixed in with the Geno and some starters on Tuesday, so I think we’ll see a heavy dosage of Jack in the first half. He’s going to line up all over the formation, too. He’ll be a fun guy to watch.

• Jackson Powers-Johnson is another guy I’ll be keeping tabs on. How long does he play? After being kicked over to guard once the team decided to move forward with Jordan Meredith at center, Jackson has hopped into a battle with Alex Cappa for the starting spot at right guard. Cappa was in a ball cap at practice on Tuesday, but I think he plays, too. Even if he is a vet. How long either one of them plays in the game could be telling of what the coaching staff thinks of them.

• I’ve mentioned it many times, Zamir White looks like a different dude. I think he’ll get a lot of work in Seattle.

• Wide receiver Alex Bachman has been a tough cover throughout camp and has shown great hands and route running. He’s trying to land one of those final receiver spots on the active roster, and Pete has been complimentary of him.

• After practice on Tuesday, JJ Pegues said, “I haven’t hit a quarterback in a long time.” How can you not watch that guy after he says that? He’s ready to lay the wood.

• Speaking of wood, JT Woods is a guy I’m excited to see in a real game situation. He’s brought some physicality to the corner position and could crack some skulls. Watch out for Greedy Vance, too; he’s played some good ball at times in practice.

• Tommy Eichenberg and Cody Lindenberg will likely wear the green dots on the second and third units. How they play while taking on those duties will be interesting. I also want to see Amari Gainer. He hasn’t caught my eye much in camp, but he’s a guy who impressed me last preseason.

• On the back end, I’m curious to see Chris Smith II and Thomas Harper in action. The two of them are now competing for looks to be the first safety off the bench after Lonnie Johnson Jr.’s injury. I’ll also be watching Tre Taylor. People forget he won the Jim Thorpe Award a couple of years ago.

• Last but not least, we’ll be seeing a lot of QB Cam Miller and his former college adversary Tommy Mellott. Miller said he’s a rhythm player, so he’ll get plenty of looks to show what he can do with more than a series or two. Tommy Mellott is making the transition from QB to receiver. He’s got all the athleticism in the world, but he seems like a developmental project to stash on the practice squad. I’d love to see some splash plays from last year’s Walter Peyton Award winner.

MISS ANYTHING?

Catch up on some of our recent stories:

BENNETT OUT, BOOKER IN

The Raiders traded third-year cornerback Jakorian Bennett to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for defensive lineman Thomas Booker IV this week.

Bennett didn’t fit the mold of what this staff is looking for in their corners. He’s got all the speed in the world, but at 5’10”, he didn’t measure up to the length of many of the other corners on this roster. Thanks in part to that, he was buried on the depth chart and relegated to reps mostly with the backups. He played well last year before he went down with a shoulder injury in week 11, but Pete says the decision to make this move was more about what they’ve seen from other guys in their CB room, like Eric Stokes, Darien Porter, Decamerion Richardson, and JT Woods.

So off goes Bennett, and in comes Thomas Booker IV, a versatile, 6’3” 302-pound defensive lineman who Pete says can join their rotation on the defensive line to bolster that group up front.

Philadelphia’s defensive line is stacked, and Booker worked his way up from the practice squad and was working with the twos in training camp in Philly. He very well could be a guy on the rise, and now he steps into a situation with much more opportunity for playing time in front of him.

He did play in all 17 regular-season games for the Eagles last year and in every playoff game, too, including their Super Bowl LIX victory over the Chiefs. Booker finished the 2024 season with 18 total tackles (eight solo), three tackles for loss, one sack, one pass defensed, and two quarterback hits.

I dove deeper into my thoughts on this trade and what it means for the Raiders in our latest podcast. So if you want more on the move, check that out below.

OBSERVATIONS FROM PRACTICE

• Defensive lineman Leki Fotu was in a walking boot today. We’re not sure how serious the injury is, but it helps that they just brought another guy like Thomas Booker into the fold.

• A lot always gets made about rookie running backs and whether or not they will be able to pick up the pass protection part of the game. A lot of guys struggle with it initially. At practice on Tuesday, Jeanty did a great job picking up a free blitzer to open the door for Geno to complete a pass downfield, and the staff took notice. Chip Kelly and Pete both ran over and gave him his props. They weren’t in pads, but it’s a good sign for the rookie.

• During seven-on-seven, I caught a glimpse of Maxx Crosby going through some drills with the rest of the defensive linemen. They were all working on their hands, in particular their chop and straight arm moves. I know Maxx is a different breed, but the speed of his hands stood out compared to the rest of the guys in the group. He trains boxing and MMA in the offseason, and it’s showing in his hand speed.

• Geno hit Brock Bowers for a pair of touchdown passes and quickly followed it up with another one to Michael Mayer. On the first touchdown to Brock, Geno showed great patience in the pocket and gave his All-Pro tight end time to find some space in the back of the endzone for the score. On the second one, he dumped it off to Brock in the flats, and he did the rest, racing down the sideline for the score.

• As soon as the Raiders signed Jamal Adams, they made it clear that he’ll be a WILL linebacker for them. With that in mind, it’s no surprise that he lines up in that spot when they go to a 4-3 base defense, but today he ran that look with the ones. It’s an interesting package because, given Jamal’s history as a safety, it’s kind of like a big nickel package in a sense. It’s an interesting look and will be fun to watch how he plays in that role in the preseason opener.

• Devin White was active on Monday and kept that going at Tuesday’s practice. This time, in coverage against Carter Runyon, he forced a ball up into the air and managed to come down with the interception.

• Speaking of tipped passes, Tyree Wilson also got his hands on one on Tuesday, too. When the guys aren’t in pads, tipped passes are more common because the d-linemen aren’t as worried about getting buried by the offensive linemen, but it was still a solid play.

• Last but not least, Geno Smith was complimentary of two of his young receivers. He said he’s taking Dont’e Thornton under his wing and said that Tre Tucker is the “spitting image of Santana Moss.” That’s a pretty nice comparison and a good sign that the QB believes his receiver room is shaping up nicely.

WHAT’S NEXT?

The Raiders hit the road to Seattle today, so no practice or podcast for us. For now, our next day out at Raiders HQ will be Saturday afternoon.

The preseason opener is on Thursday at 7 p.m. PST, though, so keep an eye out for the next episode of the Silver & Black Sports Network Podcast once that game wraps up. We’ll shoot as soon as we can and give you guys a breakdown of what we saw in their first game action of the preseason. I won’t be traveling for any of the preseason games, so we’ll be shooting that one from the SBSN studio.

Catch ya next time,