Raiders' Keys to Improving Offense Under Josh McDaniels in 2023
When the Las Vegas Raiders hired Josh McDaniels and traded for Davante Adams, the hope was that the former New England Patriots coach would build an elite offense in Vegas.
That was not the case in 2022.
McDaniels' team struggled to a 6-11 record in his first season in charge. The defense certainly shouldered a fair amount of the blame, but the offense also fell short of expectations.
They finished 13th in points per game. 12th in yardage and 16th on third-down conversions. They were right around the middle of the pack when it came to EPA in both the run and pass game.
In short, they weren't a terrible unit. But they weren't an elite one, either.
McDaniels was brought in to make the Raiders a winner with a great offense. Here are three steps they need to take toward making that a reality in 2023.
Replace Alex Bars
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An offensive line is only as good as its weakest link. A superstar offensive lineman can't elevate an entire unit, but a bad one can destroy it.
The Raiders' young offensive line saw a lot of positive developments as the 2022 season wore on. But Alex Bars' play was not one of those developments.
Bars' Pro Football Focus grade of 45.4 finished 71st among 77 qualified guards. According to Football Outsiders, he led all right guards in the league with 38 blown blocks. It's hard to establish consistency on offense when there's an interior linemen prone to making that many mistakes and losing that many times.
The Raiders have done a lot to improve their offensive line. They drafted Dylan Parham and Thayer Munford with limited draft capital last season and tried multiple options at right guard and tackle.
Finding a consistent answer to replace Bars has to be a top priority. You can make an argument that every other spot in the line is at least good enough to be called average.
You can't say the same for Bars. Replacing the weakest link should make for the best offensive line the Raiders have had in a while.
Utilize More Play Action
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The best offenses are able to marry their run game with the passing game. One of the easiest ways to do that is through play-action passing.
That is especially true for teams that are under center. In shotgun formations, it can be hard to carry out a good play fake—the ball is exposed and the quarterback is facing the line of scrimmage.
So for a team like the Raiders that was under center at the third-highest rate last season, play-action passing should have been one of their strengths. Instead, they only utilized it 20 percent of the time and were ranked 25th in play-action rate.
More use of play action could have helped this year's team in several ways. For one, it would have made life easier on the offensive line. They would have taken fewer true pass sets as the protection would have mimicked the run play it was based on.
They also would have parlayed Josh Jacobs' success as a runner into something that would have created a more efficient passing game.
The offseason is a great time for self-scouting and seeing where the playbook and scheme can be improved.
Better connectivity between the run and pass games with more play action should be something McDaniels is looking to incorporate into his game plan next season.
Add Talent to the Receiving Corps
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On paper, it looked like the Raiders were going to have one of the top pass-catching groups in the league. Davante Adams is one of the most prolific receivers in the league, but adding Darren Waller and Hunter Renfrow to the mix would give Derek Carr a trio that had answers to any defense.
In reality, Renfrow saw a huge dip in production and dealt with injuries that limited him to 10 games. The Darren Waller bounce-back season didn't materialize. Neither of them topped 400 yards and combined for just five touchdowns.
Mack Hollins was a pleasant surprise and became the team's No. 2 receiver. But there's a reason he was a relatively irrelevant target before his age-29 season in stops with the Philadelphia Eagles and Miami Dolphins.
He's a nice complimentary piece, but if he's the No. 2 guy, the receiving room needs work.
Adams lived up to the hype. He caught 100 of his 180 targets for 1,516 yards and 14 touchdowns.
That's great if the goal is for Adams to put up jaw-dropping numbers, but the Raiders have to find a better balance with more playmakers next season.
The wide receiver free-agent class is relatively thin. This might be a need that has to be addressed through the draft.
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