COSTA MESA, Calif. -- The Las Vegas Raiders open the 2024 NFL regular season at the Los Angeles Chargers on Sept. 8 at SoFi Stadium.
Antonio Pierce had the interim coach tag removed after leading the Raiders to a 5-4 finish and reinvigorating the locker room and culture. The defense responded to the former NFL linebacker assuming the mantle, as Las Vegas held opponents to a league-low 16.0 points per game and scored a league-high four defensive TDs after Pierce took over in Week 9.
Three-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Maxx Crosby is the new face of the franchise and will be bolstered by free-agent signee Christian Wilkins, a premier pass-rushing D-tackle.
At quarterback, either second-year returner Aidan O'Connell or veteran Gardner Minshew will have to make sure three-time first-team All-Pro receiver Davante Adams stays happy.
Here is a 53-man roster projection as the Raiders open training camp:
QUARTERBACKS (3): Gardner Minshew, Aidan O'Connell, Anthony Brown Jr.
Neither Minshew nor O'Connell distinguished himself enough to be called the front-runner in this QB competition during OTAs and minicamp. In fact, there were times when Brown looked the most impressive, which is not necessarily a good thing for the QB room. O'Connell has the respect of the room with how he played down the stretch last season and Minshew has the chops, given his time in the league. Whoever wins the gig in training camp might have a short leash.
RUNNING BACKS (4): Zamir White, Alexander Mattison, Ameer Abdullah, Dylan Laube
White has not entered a season as a true No. 1 back since his final year of college at Georgia in 2021, but with former All-Pro Josh Jacobs gone to the Green Bay Packers in free agency, White will have every opportunity to solidify his role. If not, Mattison has such experience, while Abdullah is the Raiders' Swiss Army Knife, and Las Vegas hopes rookie Laube is a poor man's Christian McCaffrey.
WIDE RECEIVERS (6): Davante Adams, Jakobi Meyers, Tre Tucker, Michael Gallup, DJ Turner, Jalen Guyton
If Adams has lost a step, it's one precious few other receivers have had. Plus, he already has experience with new O.C. Luke Getsy, his position coach with the Packers. If the Raiders get off to a slow start, the trade rumor mill will likely heat up for Adams. Again. Meanwhile, Meyers is a star in the making and Tucker is a burner in the slot who worked on his issues with the drops this offseason.
TIGHT ENDS (3): Brock Bowers, Michael Mayer, Harrison Bryant
The Raiders were just as shocked at Bowers, a potential generational talent at tight end, still being available at No. 13, as their fans were at the Raiders drafting him. After all, Las Vegas used a second-round pick on Mayer last season and signed Bryant to a one-year, $3.25 million free-agent deal. So, expect a lot of 12 personnel packages under Getsy, which should help the winner of the O'Connell-Minshew QB battle.
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN (10): Kolton Miller, Cody Whitehair, Andre James, Dylan Parham, Thayer Munford Jr., Andrus Peat, Jackson Powers-Johnson, DJ Glaze, Jordan Meredith, Dalton Wagner
Everyone was convinced the Raiders needed a right tackle. Everyone except for the Raiders, who will give Munford every opportunity to win the gig. Parham is switching from left guard to right guard and free-agent signee Whitehair seems to have the upper hand at left guard. It's a reimagined O-line that will not only have to protect potentially a new QB in the more mobile Minshew, but open holes for a new RB1 in White.
DEFENSIVE LINEMEN (9): Maxx Crosby, Christian Wilkins, John Jenkins, Malcolm Koonce, Tyree Wilson, Adam Butler, Janarius Robinson, Byron Young, Matthew Butler
The Raiders' retooled D-line, highlighted by a three-time Pro Bowler on the edge in Crosby and an elite pass-rushing interior tackle in free-agent addition Wilkins, has a certain throwback feel to it. And while the bar set by Howie Long, Greg Townsend, Bill Pickel and Lyle Alzado in the 1980s is a high one, Crosby and Co. have designs on reaching it. Plus, affecting opposing quarterbacks up front will only help the rebuilt secondary.
LINEBACKERS (5): Robert Spillane, Divine Deablo, Luke Masterson, Tommy Eichenberg, Amari Burney
Spillane was a revelation for the Raiders in his first season with the team, his first as a full-time starter in the league. He had three interceptions, forced a fumble and recovered one. And with Las Vegas' base defense essentially a nickel, Deablo is the other starter whose forte is sideline-to-sideline pass coverage. Eichenberg, a fifth-round draft pick, is a throwback thumper while Masterson has proven capable, and Burney showed flashes as a rookie.
CORNERBACKS (6): Jack Jones, Brandon Facyson, Nate Hobbs, Jakorian Bennett, Decamerion Richardson, M.J. Devonshire
The Raiders are banking on Jones' maturity almost as much as they are on his playmaking ability (two pick-sixes). Hobbs is one of the best slot corners in the game, so who starts opposite Jones is key. Will it be the stable vet Facyson, who has just one career INT, or Bennett, who started four games as a rookie last season? The Raiders invested in the future of the position by drafting Richardson and Devonshire.
SAFETIES (4): Marcus Epps, Tre'von Moehrig, Trey Taylor, Isaiah Pola-Mao
Epps and Moehrig start and the Raiders drafted the nation's top safety out of Air Force in Taylor. That leaves Pola Mao, a 6-foot-4, 205-pounder who's appeared in 27 games the past two seasons as a UDFA and has an INT and two sacks, and Chris Smith II, a 5-11, 195-pound fifth-round pick who played in 12 games as a rookie and had one tackle last season. Might Las Vegas go with five safeties?
SPECIALISTS (3): PK Daniel Carlson, P AJ Cole, LS Jacob Bobenmoyer
Carlson was second-team All-Pro in 2021 and first-team All-Pro in 2022 and successfully converted all of his PAT attempts in a season last year for the first time since 2019, his rookie season. Cole is a three-time Pro Bowler who was first-team All-Pro in 2021 and 2023. And with little, if any, drop-off last season with Bobenmoyer in his first year as their long snapper, familiarity should breed more success going forward.