Are Raiders’ Weaknesses Too Much for Las Vegas to Overcome in 2022?

To say it was a wild offseason in the AFC West is the mother of all understatements. In an effort to dethrone the six-time reigning division champion Kansas City Chiefs, the other three teams all went buck wild adding impact players.

For the Los Angeles Chargers, it meant overhauling the defense with the addition of edge-rusher Khalil Mack and cornerback J.C. Jackson. The Denver Broncos added a Super Bowl champion quarterback in Russell Wilson. And the Las Vegas Raiders added big names on both sides of the ball by signing edge-rusher Chandler Jones and trading for superstar wide receiver Davante Adams.

That those additions improved a Raiders team that made the postseason in 2021 goes without saying. But amid all the hype from those additions, there's something else that isn't being said. While the Raiders have more than a few strengths, there are also weaknesses on both sides of the ball. Potentially glaring weaknesses.

The kinds of weaknesses that could ruin the team's chances of winning what may well be the toughest division in the NFL.

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The Raiders weren't exactly hurting for skill-position talent on offense even before Adams came to town. Wide receiver Hunter Renfrow caught 103 passes, topped 1,000 yards and scored nine touchdowns in a breakout 2021 campaign. As recently as two years ago, tight end Darren Waller caught 107 passes for almost 1,200 yards. Running back Josh Jacobs eclipsed 1,200 total yards last season. And now the team has an "alpha" receiver in Adams.

That's quite a bit of firepower for quarterback Derek Carr, who was fifth in the league with 4,804 passing yards in 2021. He was also fifth in the league in completion percentage last season. He's one of the more underrated veteran starters at his position in the league.

But all that firepower will be of little help to Carr if he's constantly running for his life. Last year, he was sacked 40 times—tied for fifth-most. Heading into 2022, Pro Football Focus ranked the Raiders offensive line as the fourth-worst in the league.

If the preseason has been any indication, that ranking may have been too generous.

While speaking to reporters this week, Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels admitted that line was a work in progress.

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"It's too early to sit here and try to say where it's at. But there's multiple guys in there that are competing. They know that; they all know it. We're going to try to play the best 11 guys on every snap. It's the right thing to do. It's the best thing for the team. If we keep putting the best 11 out there regardless of how young, old, whatever, it doesn't matter about that—if we put the best 11 out there, I think everybody respects the fact that we're trying to win, so everybody's going to get opportunities.

"There's a lot of competition. I think it makes them all better. They've embraced it, which is really what we want from our team, and we look forward to letting it play out on the field. They'll determine it."

Simply put, the right side of the offensive line in Las Vegas is a disaster. 2021 first-round pick Alex Leatherwood was a mess at both guard and tackle as a rookie, allowing eight sacks and committing a whopping 14 penalties. Brandon Parker was no better in Leatherwood's stead, allowing eight sacks of his own.

Now, Parker is hurt and likely won't be ready for Week 1. So is rookie seventh-rounder Thayer Munford. Leatherwood was moved back to tackle out of necessity and was a turnstile in the Raiders' last preseason game. Even if the Raiders add a tackle between now and Week 1, it's hard to envision a scenario where the right side of the line isn't a major problem in 2022. And it's not just a pass-protection issue, as the Raiders ranked 28th in rushing in 2021.

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Jacobs is a capable back, but he can't create long gains from thin air when multiple defenders are in the backfield with him on a regular basis.

Defensively, pairing Jones with Maxx Crosby gives the Raiders one of the league's better one-two punches on the edge. Inside linebacker Denzel Perryman had far and away the best season of his career in 2021. And when he's healthy, Johnathan Abram is one of the NFL's hardest-hitting safeties.

But just like on offense, there's a problem. The Raiders cornerbacks are a major question mark.

Last year, the Raiders were a middle-of-the-pack pass defense, ranking 13th in the NFL at 222.9 passing yards per game allowed. However, the leader of that position group from last year is gone after veteran Casey Hayward departed in free agency.

The Raiders took steps to address Hayward's departure, adding Rock Ya-Sin via trade and signing Anthony Averett away from the Baltimore Ravens. Per Vic Tafur of The Athletic, Carr lauded the new additions to the secondary.

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"They are super competitive," Carr said. "They are challenging me to make really tight throws, some tighter throws than some games. … And sometimes obviously with the talent that we have, they get beat here and there on certain things. But that's not a knock, it's definitely not a knock on them. But I've been really impressed with all our secondary and the covering skills that they've had. I'm excited to watch them work. Again, it's a process, but they are doing some really good things."

Ya-Sin is a decent young player, but he hasn't started more than eight games in a season since his rookie year. Holdover Trayvon Mullen missed 12 games and has allowed over 62 percent of the passes thrown in his direction the past two years to be completed. Nate Hobbs' completion percentage against in 2021 was over 82 percent.

This isn't to say the Raiders have the worst cornerback room in the league. They don't. But the team lost its most proven option at the position in the offseason. There may be some good here, but there isn't great. And in a division that includes two games each against Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert and Russell Wilson, "good" may not be good enough.

This doesn't necessarily mean the Raiders are doomed to a last-place finish in the division. Or that the team will absolutely miss the playoffs. Maybe they will find some way to cobble together a competent right side of the offensive line. Maybe some of the Raiders' young corners will take a big step forward in 2022.

But the AFC West in 2022 has the makings of a division where teams are going to have to win some shootouts. Games where protecting the quarterback and slowing down an opponent's passing attack will be absolute musts.

The Raiders don't appear especially well-equipped to do either.

There's no maybe about that.