Raiders' Players Who Won't Live up to Hype in 2023 Season
The Las Vegas Raiders were a team crushed by a few players who did not live up to their hype last season.
The Raiders took two massive swings last offseason. Trading for Davante Adams was a big one. That worked out well. He posted another 1,500-yard season and was one of the best receivers in football.
However, signing Chandler Jones turned out to be a bust last season. The veteran went from 10.5 sacks in 2021 to just 4.5 in his first season donning the Silver and Black.
His disappointing season was an aggravating factor for a defense that was among the league's worst.
Unfortunately, there are players who underperform compared to their expectations every season. While the Raiders as a whole might be a better team in 2023, there are sure to be a few players who don't live up to their hype.
Here's a look at three who could underperform.
QB Jimmy Garoppolo
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The reasons the Raiders were keen on adding Jimmy Garoppolo are obvious. He has connections to the Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler regime, Derek Carr wasn't really an option anymore and they weren't in a position to draft one of the top three quarterbacks.
But if the idea is that McDaniels is going to have a better team in 2023 than he did in 2022 then Jimmy G has to be better than Carr.
That's probably expecting too much.
In general, Garoppolo has been an efficient quarterback when healthy. In 2019—the only season he has played every game in his career—he finished ranked 12th in QBR.
But that's the problem. He's only played one season in which he was healthy for every game. Now, he's coming into training camp on the heels of a foot surgery.
When Jimmy G was healthy last season he was playing well. He threw 16 touchdowns to four interceptions and was 7-3 as the starter. But that's in Kyle Shanahan's system with Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey at his disposal.
The Raiders have a strong receiving corps, but Garoppolo has a lot to prove. It's fair to question whether he'll stay healthy long enough to prove anything.
WR Hunter Renfrow
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In some ways, there isn't necessarily hype behind Hunter Renfrow. He is coming off a bad season in which he played just 10 games due to a concussion early in the season and an abdominal injury that led to a stretch on the injured reserve.
Renfrow is only 27 years old and doesn't have an extensive history of injuries. The worry for him next season really doesn't have to do with health. Whether the new coaching staff and front office actually like Renfrow is another story.
While Renfrow struggled with injuries last season there's still going to be some hype around him based on his Pro Bowl season in 2021 in which he snagged 103 of his 128 targets for 1,038 yards and nine touchdowns.
The problem is that it doesn't look like that volume is coming back with this coaching staff. He went from averaging 7.5 targets per game under Jon Gruden then Rich Bisaccia to just 5.0 targets per game in McDaniels' offense.
The addition of Jakobi Meyers isn't going to help. The former Patriots receiver primarily operates out of the slot just like Renfrow and was actually brought in by this regime.
Don't expect too much of a bounce back from him with this team.
CB David Long Jr.
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The Raiders needed an infusion of new blood at cornerback. They gave up the highest passer rating in the league last season and the secondary was one of their greatest weaknesses.
But new doesn't always mean better.
They took a shot on multiple cornerbacks in free agency including Brandon Facyson, Duke Shelley and David Long Jr. They also drafted Jakorian Bennett.
Of those additions, Long is one of the more exciting ones on paper. He was part of some good secondaries with the Rams. However, one of the key mistakes teams can make in free agency is taking a reserve from a good team and attempting to make them something they aren't.
In this case, that means expecting Long to become a starter might be wishful thinking after his days as a reserve with the Rams. Long never played more than 47 percent of the snaps in Los Angeles in any of his four seasons.
Last season he didn't play much better than the Raiders existing options at corner. He surrendered a 113.3 passer rating on 32 targets.
Free agent additions tend to generate optimism and some hype. It's going to be a big ask for Long to do either of those once they start playing.
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