When it comes to position groups, the Las Vegas Raiders' specialists unit is one of the better ones on the roster, even after what can be considered a down year for kicker Daniel Carlson.
Las Vegas is returning Carlson, punter AJ Cole and long snapper Jacob Bobenmoyer, all of whom were average to elite in 2023. Those respective performances helped lead to the Raiders being ranked No. 4 in the special teams rankings of Rick Gosselin.
But are there any concerns when it comes to the Raiders' specialists? After going through the concern levels for every Raiders position group on offense (here) and defense (here), we're now doing the same for the specialists.
Kicker: Low
Carlson has typically been reliable from 50-plus, but he was just 1-of-3 from that area in 2023, his worst success rate since his sophomore campaign. That said, the sample size was small.
His 86.7% field goal success rate overall was a middle-of-the-pack mark at the position, and it was the third-straight campaign in which he saw a decrease in his field goal percentage.
We're not pushing the panic button on Carlson just yet, as he remains a better option than most teams have. But there's at least some level of concern for the kicker.
Punter: None
Cole has emerged as one of the very best punters in the NFL, with three-straight Pro Bowl nods and two first-team All-Pro selections in the last three years.
In 2023, Cole averaged a whopping 50.4 yards per punt, the fifth-best in the NFL, and his net average of 45.1 was tops in the league.
Long snapper: Low
Jacob Bobenmoyer played well in his first season with the Raiders after spending three years with the Denver Broncos, where he did have some issues in that span. We haven't seen those issues in Vegas, but there is always a concern they could creep back up.
