The Las Vegas Raiders endured another rough season in 2024, once again missing the playoffs and finishing in last place in the AFC West. First-year head coach Antonio Pierce was a one-and-done, and rookie tight end Brock Bowers was arguably the only bright spot in Vegas. The general manager responsible for drafting Bowers was fired, go figure for the Raiders, and the franchise has hit the reset button. Let's take a look at what work the Raiders have to do this spring, and how horrendous of an offseason it could be.
Major Storylines as Raiders try to catch Broncos in AFC West
Two major storylines are at play for the Raiders this spring: who is the next starting quarterback and how does the franchise change under Pete Carroll? These questions are shockingly similar to what the Broncos faced just two years ago when the Broncos hired Sean Payton, and the answers might be the same: spend a year building culture and dealing with not-great quarterback play, and hope for a better quarterback selection in year two.
The Broncos were a fringe playoff team in 2023, but ultimately the bottom fell out in the final weeks and the team missed the playoffs. Drafting Bo Nix forever changed the trajectory of the franchise, and the Raiders might look to make a similar move in just one year.
What worked well for the Broncos was that Sean Payton and Vance Joseph were able to build a top-10 defensive unit, which covered a ton of their roster holes both years. The question for the Raiders will be if they can develop a roster outside of the quarterback spot that can cover some of the issues at the position, such as the Broncos did over the past two years.
As for quarterbacking in Las Vegas this year, there is no clear answer for the Raiders. They don't appear to be in a spot to draft one of the top quarterbacks in this class, and tanking another year to have a shot at a top quarterback in 2026 might be a smarter move for the future of the franchise. Could Las Vegas possibly sign one of these three quarterbacks to start in 2025?
Given the amount of quarterback-needy teams this year, the Raiders might find themselves in a similar position to last year, taking an elite non-quarterback prospect at a non-elite draft position. The Broncos were in a similar spot last year, but Nix fell to their lap. The odds of Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders falling to the Raiders are significantly less but never say never in the NFL. After all, who saw the Broncos as a playoff team in 2024?