The Las Vegas Raiders no doubt made some impactful moves in the first offseason of the general manager Tom Telesco era, but we'd be lying if we said he checked every box.
The most glaring need not adequately addressed was the quarterback position, where the Raiders only added Gardner Minshew to a room that also includes Aidan O'Connell, who the jury is still very much out on.
Then, you have the cornerback position, where the Raiders had a big hole opposite Jack Jones. Las Vegas only added to the position with Day 3 picks and looks primed to have to rely on Jakorian Bennett, who had a depressing first season in the NFL.
Knowing all that, it comes as no surprise that the Raiders received a poor grade from Sporting News' Vinnie Iyer, who gave the Raiders a "C-" for their offseason, tied for the lowest grade in the NFL. Here's Iyer's thoughts on the subject:
Key additions: QB Gardner Minshew, RB Alexander Mattison, TE Brock Bowers, LG Jackson Powers-Johnson, DT Christian Wilkins
The Raiders splurged on Wilkins and used a luxury first-rounder on Bowers despite drafting Michael Mayer in the second round in 2024. They seemed to be too intent on reversing course from the brief Josh McDaniels era that they didn't move on well early for Antonio Pierce. The biggest oddity of them all is showing limited interest in drafting a QB from a strong class. There's every expectation for them to drop into last in the NFC West.
On top of their remaining question marks under center and at the cornerback position, Las Vegas also has a suspect situation at the right tackle spot, where Thayer Munford is a total wild card.
I would have preferred the Raiders use their No. 13 overall pick on either a right tackle or cornerback instead of Bowers. That's not a knock on the player, but simply a recognition of the fact that the Raiders had bigger fish to fry.
Not grabbing a quarterback in that spot was understandable once Michael Penix Jr. was gone, so I can live with that. Not to mention, the Raiders did apparently have a plan to try and trade up, it just didn't materialize.
On the positive side of things, the additions of Christian Wilkins and Jackson Powers-Johnson shored up a pair of big needs, and even the signing of Alexander Mattison gave Las Vegas some insurance behind Zamir White, who has a limited sample size.
I wouldn't necessarily categorize the Raiders' offseason as one of the worst in the NFL, but it certainly could've been better.
