Five things we learned from the Raiders' offseason program (2024)

HENDERSON, Nev. — When the Las Vegas Raiders’ coaching staff gathered before the start of offseason team activities, coach Antonio Pierce made a point of shifting their attention away from X’s and O’s. He wanted the initial focus to be on developing relationships with one another and extending that to the players when they reported in April. Once the on-field work began, that approach immediately paid dividends.

“I wanted to really build that chemistry, that continuity, that trust, accountability, communication that we talked about all offseason,” Pierce said Thursday. “When we got on the grass, you can see the excitement, the passion, the love, the effort to play the game. … And then you put it all together and you see how it starts to jell, and your identity and the look of your team starts to mold into what you want it to be.”

Much of the focus of Pierce’s culture-building has been on how he has ingratiated himself with the players, but it has also affected the dynamic between him and assistant coaches. The Raiders have an unusually large 29-person coaching staff, but Pierce has tried to empower everyone involved. Assistants have been asked to present in front of the entire staff, collaborate on projects and speak up during meetings with players. That includes coaching veterans such as assistant head coach Marvin Lewis all the way down to younger coaches such as offensive assistant DeAndre Pierce, the head coach’s son.

“I can’t do everything,” the elder Pierce said. “I can’t be in every room. … There’s a lot of knowledge there, and it’s a shame if we don’t share that knowledge, not just to the coaches but to our players. I want to make sure they know that their voice can be heard.”

That created a positive environment for the Raiders that persisted through the end of OTAs on Thursday. The team will report for training camp in Costa Mesa, Calif., on July 23. Pierce encouraged the team to decompress during the summer break but warned the players not to lose focus.

“One thing we can’t do is start over on the 23rd,” Pierce said. “We’re not going backwards. … Winners never stop working. You can decompress, but I didn’t say you can stop working. … I just told them when they come back, kick in the front door and let’s get this bad boy rolling.”

Here are the five biggest takeaways from the offseason program.

🔴 🎥 LIVE: Head Coach Antonio Pierce addresses the media from the Intermountain Health Performance Center.
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— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) June 13, 2024

1. The quarterback situation is concerning

Both Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew struggled during OTAs. They split snaps with the first string fairly evenly, but neither found much success during the practices that were open to reporters. The quarterbacks (and the rest of the offense) are still in the early stages of getting comfortable in coordinator Luke Getsy’s offense. Understandably, there have been some growing pains, but it’s still troubling that neither O’Connell nor Minshew displayed much progress results-wise by the end of OTAs.

Both quarterbacks struggled to push the ball downfield, had too many off-target throws and frequently put the ball in harm’s way. The Raiders will need better than that to avoid the offense being a liability yet again. The good news is there’s still plenty of time for O’Connell and Minshew to get better in training camp before the season arrives.

“I told our guys, ‘Don’t get frustrated, just trust the process,’” Pierce said. “I think you’ll see growth as we go through training camp.”

2. Nobody has the edge in the cornerback competition

The Raiders defense returns nine starters and added another one in defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, which leaves outside cornerback as the lone unsettled spot on that side of the ball. Throughout OTAs, Brandon Facyson and Jakorian Bennett rotated in with the starters. Facyson has a sizable advantage in experience — he’s going into his seventh season while Bennett is headed into his second — and received more first-team reps in the practices open to reporters.

Facyson isn’t a dynamic athlete, but his length (he’s 6-foot-2), sharp technique and clean footwork hold up well in coverage. Bennett is more of a gambler who relies on his speed and athleticism. He doesn’t hesitate to take an opportunity to make plays on the ball. They were both solid throughout OTAs.

Like the quarterback competition, the cornerback battle will continue into training camp. Although the Raiders prefer to find an answer in-house, they have plenty of cap space to explore their options in free agency if they aren’t satisfied as the season draws closer.

3. The offensive line is settled

Left tackle Kolton Miller didn’t practice during OTAs as he continues to recover from offseason shoulder surgery, but he’ll undoubtedly return to the starting lineup once he’s healthy. At that point, the starting lineup will be Miller, left guard Jackson Powers-Johnson, center Andre James, right guard Dylan Parham and right tackle Thayer Munford. Andrus Peat will serve as a versatile backup who can play both tackle and guard positions, and veteran guard Cody Whitehair will provide more insurance on the interior.

It’s hard to evaluate play in the trenches until pads come on in training camp, but offensive line coach James Cregg has already been impressed with the group. It was a challenge to learn the wide zone-based blocking scheme, but the players got the hang of it by the end of OTAs.

4. The Raiders believe their young core is on the rise

The Raiders have 11 projected starters who are still on their rookie contracts (running back Zamir White, slot receiver Tre Tucker, tight end Brock Bowers, Powers-Johnson, Parham, Munford, defensive end Malcolm Koonce, linebacker Divine Deablo, cornerback Jack Jones, nickelback Nate Hobbs and safety Tre’von Moehrig). If O’Connell and Bennett win their respective position battles, they’ll join that list. Additionally, the coaching staff expects significant contributions from other rookie-scale backups such as tight end Michael Mayer and defensive end Tyree Wilson.

As general manager Tom Telesco builds the roster with the future in mind, the Raiders need to develop more ascending, cheap talent. The results remain to be seen, of course, but there’s internal confidence in the young players likely to be given opportunities this season.

5. The defense looks primed to make another leap

For the first time in a long time, the Raiders defense was legitimately good last season. The unit finished ninth in the league in scoring defense and was arguably the NFL’s best during Pierce’s nine-week tenure as interim head coach. Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham is always tweaking his scheme, but the returning players are well versed in the core concepts, language and principles given it’s his third season with the franchise.

The Raiders defensive line was good last season, but the addition of Wilkins gives the group a chance to be elite. Wilkins, John Jenkins and Adam Butler combine to form a strong trio on the interior. Maxx Crosby and Koonce are known commodities on the edge, but they’ll need Wilson to make significant strides to solidify the rotation at defensive end. Crosby has led the D-line for years, but he now has a running mate in Wilkins who can make the unit even better.

“(Pierce) talks about it all the time. He’s like, ‘You don’t have to be Superman, just go be yourself,’” Crosby said. “At the end of the day, it’s a team sport, and we all have to do it. … We have more and more guys stepping up daily.”

Graham uses a nickel package as his base defense, so Deablo and Robert Spillane will take most of the snaps at linebacker. The Raiders view Luke Masterson as a third starting-caliber linebacker and believe rookie Tommy Eichenberg can grow into a fourth. It looks to be a deep group.

The Raiders secondary has four proven starters in Jones, Hobbs, Moehrig and safety Marcus Epps. The cornerback competition remains something to watch, but it should still be considered a position of strength.

“We want to dominate,” Moehrig said. “We want to be the villains of the offense every time we come into the stadium. … We want to play with an energy that’s contagious and everybody can feel it.”

Throughout OTAs, the Raiders defense was miles ahead of the offense. It’s not surprising that it had the upper hand — it has a significant advantage in terms of continuity, and the offense is still learning Getsy’s system and spent most of OTAs without multiple projected starters — but that doesn’t negate the fact that the defense has the potential to be dominant. Graham’s unit has made real progress toward its goal of becoming great.

“We’ve done some good things so far and we’re off to a good start,” Wilkins said. “But it’s ultimately up to us as players. The coaches put a lot on us, so it’s up to us to take the ownership and that accountability so we can be the best defense we can be.”

(Photos: Ethan Miller / Getty Images)

Tashan Reed is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the Las Vegas Raiders. He previously covered Florida State football for The Athletic. Prior to joining The Athletic, he covered high school and NAIA college sports for the Columbia Missourian, Mizzou football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball for SBNation blog Rock M Nation, wrote stories focused on the African-American community for The St. Louis American and was a sports intern at the Commercial Appeal in Memphis through the Sports Journalism Institute. Follow Tashan on Twitter @tashanreed