While the Las Vegas Raiders missed the playoffs once again last season, it was still impressive to see them finish with an 8-9 record when you consider the circumstances.
Not only did they have to climb out of a 3-5 hole, the Raiders made a midseason change at head coach and quarterback, with the team going to a rookie in Aidan O'Connell.
Despite all that, Las Vegas went 5-4 under interim head coach Antonio Pierce, who was given the full-time gig earlier this offseason. While the offense no doubt got a little better with Pierce at the helm, it was the defense that was largely responsible for the respectable finish to the campaign.
Considering the fact that the Raiders should have at least a slightly better situation at quarterback and a defense that stands to be elite, Las Vegas should be expected to at least match what they did in 2023 during the 2024 campaign, and it's conceivable the team could be better.
But that is not something CBS Sports' Cody Benjamin subscribes to. He predicts the Raiders will be one of the worst five teams in the NFL in 2024. Here's his thoughts.
In terms of raw talent, the Raiders actually boast some of the game's top players at individual spots, be it Davante Adams out wide, Christian Wilkins on the interior or Maxx Crosby off the edge. Rookie tight end Brock Bowers should enhance the offense as well. New coach Antonio Pierce will be trying to prove he's got more than an interim spark, however, and he'll be doing so with some combination of Gardner Minshew and Aidan O'Connell at quarterback. Both guys are scrappy, but there's a reason their offseason competition lasted all the way to the preseason, where even Pierce seemed reluctant to crown a winner. It'd be one thing if this group played in the NFC South. In the AFC West, where the Kansas City Chiefs are a juggernaut and the Los Angeles Chargers should be improved, win streaks could be particularly hard to come by in Sin City.
Nobody is going to sit here and say that the Raiders are Super Bowl contenders, but they shouldn't be among the worst teams in the NFL, mostly because of a defense that was already very good before the addition of Christian Wilkins.
Say what you want about Gardner Minshew, but he stands to be an upgrade over Jimmy G and the rookie version of O'Connell, who should also be better than the Year 1 version of himself now that he has some experience under his belt.
The problem with another middling finish is that it will likely put the Raiders out of range of one of the top quarterbacks in next year's draft, which would be a worse result than a bottom-five finish.
