Hot Takes for Davante Adams, More Raiders Stars Ahead of Training Camp
The Las Vegas Raiders dabbled in an Antonio Pierce era in 2023. They'll get the full experience in 2024.
The Raiders enter the season with a sense of optimism after turning things around behind the coach in 2023. With Pierce getting the full-time job after a successful stint as the interim last season, the Raiders have moved forward with Tom Telesco joining on as general manager.
It's been an interesting offseason watching the new tandem work to build a roster that they like.
The Raiders might have some roster flaws, but they also have some identifiable stars. Namely an elite wide receiver in Davante Adams and a fiery pass-rusher in Maxx Crosby.
Here, we'll take a look at the Raiders 2024 campaign through the lends of some hot takes about the biggest stars on the Raiders roster.
Davante Adams Will Be on Trade Block by the Deadline
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Davante Adams has gone out of his way to refute any trade chatter this offseason. He wants to be a Raider and he openly campaigned for Antonio Pierce to be the head coach.
Now that Pierce has been named coach it makes sense that Adams is perfectly happy where he is. The Raiders finished the season strong with Pierce taking over for Josh McDaniels on an interim basis.
Adams also had his least productive season since he became a superstar sometime around 2018. His 103 receptions, 1,144 yards and eight touchdowns would be a career-best for plenty of No. 1 receivers in the league, but a far cry from the 100 receptions for 1,516 yards and 14 touchdowns he put up with Derek Carr in 2022.
The reality is that the Raiders are headed in the right direction of a franchise, but the offense is going to be a work in progress. Gardner Minshew II, if he even wins the job, is going to make the offense functional without striking fear in the heart of opposing defenses.
ESPN's Mike Clay has offered win probabilities for each game on the Raiders schedule. They are only above 50 percent for one game in the first half of the season. Seven of their first nine games have win probabilities of 40 percent or less.
Pierce is a defensive-minded coach and hired Luke Getsy to run the offense. Between a lack of talent at the quarterback position and questions on the offensive line, there could be some growing pains this season.
It wouldn't be surprising if the 31-year-old grows frustrated with those.
Maxx Crosby Will Be First-Team All-Pro
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Maxx Crosby doesn't get enough credit for being one of the absolute best at his position. Crosby boasts one of the best pressure percentages in the league at 17.1 percent. That's impressive unto itself, but the most impressive thing about it is that he rarely leaves the field.
Micah Parsons, who was first-team All-Pro over Crosby last season, led the league in pressure percentage at 20.4 percent. He also only had 461 total pass rush snaps. Bryce Huff was right behind him, but he only had 316 reps.
Crosby led all defenders with 625 pass rush snaps. That helped him lead the league with 100 total pressures, but it also shows how much Crosby has meant to the Silver and Black defense.
The 26-year-old has been the ironman of the Raiders defense the last two seasons playing over 1,000 snaps in 2022 and 2023. There's been a level of necessity to that. Malcolm Koonce emerged as a legitimate pass rush threat over the back half of the season, but the Raiders haven't had a good sidekick for Crosby in that time.
The arrival of Christian Wilkins should help in that regard. Wilkins is the kind of pocket-collapsing presence on the inside that the Raiders haven't had. If Koonce can continue his upward trajectory then the pieces will be in place for Crosby to earn his first first-team All-Pro appearance and contend for Defensive Player of the Year.
Christian Wilkins Hits Double-Digit Sacks in Raiders Debut Season
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The Raiders have had an uninspiring group of defensive tackles for years. The position has primarily been filled with stop-gap veterans, young guys with unfulfilled potential and run-stuffers over the past few seasons.
That changed the day the Raiders were able to sign Christian Wilkins to a four-year, $110 million contract in March.
Wilkins' pass-rush production has been up-and-down throughout his five years in the league. He nearly doubled his career sack total with nine quarterback takedowns in 2023, but he posted a 10.7 percent pressure rate in 2021 despite finishing with just 4.5 sacks.
Regardless, Wilkins has been a high-impact player. He finished the 2021 campaign with 89 total tackles and the 2022 season with 100 total tackles and 23 tackles for a loss. Those are linebacker numbers.
The Raiders offense might have its struggles, but the defense should be legit. Getting after the passer is the most important thing a defense can do right now. Pairing Wilkins with Crosby is going to give opposing offensive linemen fits.
Expect Wilkins to build on his strong 2023 and have even more sacks in 2024.
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