The Las Vegas Raiders have a question mark at the most important position in the NFL, but they remain rock-solid at their skill positions, which will certainly help whoever wins the competition between Aidan O'Connell and Gardner Minshew.
Despite the talent the Raiders have at their skill positions, ESPN's Bill Barnwell is not impressed. In a recent rankings of every team's running back, wide receiver and tight end talent for 2024, he put the Raiders at No. 23, 12 spots worse than where they were in 2023.
Barnwell mentions Davante Adams' down season in 2023 and the loss of Josh Jacobs as big reasons why he isn't high on Las Vegas' group. Here's everything he wrote:
It was overshadowed by everything else that went on with the Raiders last season, but we might have seen Davante Adams begin his decline. The star wideout dropped off by nearly 400 yards from his first season with the Raiders in 2022 despite getting nearly as many targets over 17 games. The quarterback play didn't help, of course, but it's not as if he is going to be playing with Aaron Rodgers again in 2024. As I wrote about when Adams was traded, the track record of elite wideouts entering their 30s suggests teams can't count on them maintaining their All-Pro level for long. He is still very good, but 2023 was his worst season in a half-decade.
Jakobi Meyers came over from the Patriots and essentially emulated his performance with New England, which is just fine for a WR2, but there are questions elsewhere. Josh Jacobs wasn't good before getting hurt a year ago -- he exited for Green Bay in free agency -- and the running back depth chart is as thin as any in the league with Zamir White and Alexander Mattison leading the way. I'm excited about 13th overall pick Brock Bowers' potential as a potentially elite pass catcher, but tight ends rarely break out in their rookie campaigns, even eventual stars. Michael Mayer was anonymous as a rookie -- he caught 27 passes and had two touchdowns -- but if he and Tre Tucker can take a step forward in Year 2, Las Vegas might have something to build around after Adams leaves.
The whole "Davante Adams is on the decline" narrative is tired and just flat out wrong. It's true his 1,144 receiving yards was his lowest output in years, but he was also catching passes from Jimmy G and a rookie quarterback. With more competent quarterback play, his production wouldn't have seen a decline.
With Adams and Jakobi Meyers, the Raiders have one of the better one-two punches in the NFL at wide receiver. They also have a promising young player in Tre Tucker, and veterans in Michael Gallup and Jalen Guyton to fill out a solid top five on the depth chart.
Las Vegas has also improved its tight ends room. Michael Mayer showed flashes last season in limited opportunities, and Brock Bowers is widely considered a can't-miss playmaker coming out of college.
The loss of Jacobs isn't great, but Zamir White was fantastic over the last four games of 2023 after he nearly averaged 100 yards per contest. Alexander Mattison struck out in his bid to be a starter with the Minnesota Vikings in 2023, but before that he was one of the best No. 2 running backs in the league.
Do the Raiders have an elite group of playmakers? No, but the group is certainly average, at worst, and that is simply not reflected in Barnwell's rankings.
