Raiders' Players Who Won't Live up to Hype in 2024 Season
Antonio Pierce's leadership and a strong finish to the 2023 season has brought hope to the Las Vegas Raiders.
Pierce's relationship with the players and the fact that he wasn't Josh McDaniels helped him get the season back on track for a 5-4 finish over the final nine games.
But hope is a dangerous thing.
The truth is that success in the league can be elusive and success in one season isn't a guarantee that more will follow. The Raiders have some good things going for them. The defense was particularly good over the final stretch and the roster isn't bad.
But there are always a few players who fail to live up to expectations. There are reasons to be positive about the team, but these players are prime candidates to underperform relative to expectations.
QB Aidan O'Connell
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Aidan O'Connell's progress in 2024 is one of the most important aspects of the Raiders season. If he can win the starting quarterback job over Gardner Minshew II, build on the success he had as a starter last season and prove he deserves to be the starter in 2025 then the Raiders will truly be heading in the right direction.
But there's a good chance he's not even going to tick off the first box of that checklist.
There's bound to be support for O'Connell among the Raiders' faithful. That's natural after a surprising rookie season where he went 5-5 as the starter and tossed 12 touchdowns to seven interceptions.
But a good stretch as a rookie is far from proving that he can be the franchise quarterback. Just ask his primary competition for the starting job.
Minshew went 6-6 as a rookie with 21 touchdowns to six interceptions as a sixth-round pick in 2019. It was good enough to convince the Jaguars that he should be the starter the following season and the Jags proceeded to win just one game in his eight starts before he was injured and ultimately battled for the starting job with Mike Glennon.
Minshew has revealed that he's a good enough quarterback to keep a team around .500. He's a capable starter who can suffice with good coaching and a strong supporting cast. But he's not the kind of gifted passer who is going to command a massive contract and win Super Bowls.
O'Connell is likely to wind up with a similar career arc despite showing some positives last season.
RB Dylan Laube
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You can thank for the fantasy football community for the Dylan Laube hype train. The 5'10", 206-pound back rom New Hampshire was a sixth-round pick, but he's already getting love from various fantasy outlets and analysts who love his upside as a pass-catching back.
It's understandable. Laube's highlights are a fun watch and he had 117 receptions over his final two seasons at New Hampshire.
The bottom line is that Laube has a lot working against him to live up to the expectations that are going to be created with fantasy football expectations. B/R scout Derrik Klassen noted a few of them in his scouting report.
Klassen gave Laube a UDFA grade and noted that despite his thicker frame he, "very little balance and power to his game. He is not a commanding downhill runner at all."
At the same time, Klassen didn't come away from his film impressed with Laube's speed, he noted that Laube has "average speed at best. Doesn't quite have an extra gear that will be a threat in the NFL."
There are plenty of Day 3 picks that end up being useful running backs, but the Raiders have shown a lot of faith in Zamir White by letting Josh Jacobs walk in free agency and not drafting a back earlier than Laube in the sixth round.
That speaks to how much work White is about to get and it would be surprising to see Laube have any bigger of a role than Ameer Abdullah had last season with 24 targets in 17 games.
Edge Tyree Wilson
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The previous regime took a massive swing when they elected to take Tyree Wilson with the seventh pick in the 2023 draft.
Wilson's pre-draft process was marred by a foot injury that he suffered at Texas Tech and carried into the preseason. He was ranked 18th overall on the B/R big board and B/R's Matt Holder had concerns about his athleticism and bend as an elite prospect.
Wilson ended up playing all 17 games but had just 3.5 sacks and only played 44 percent of the defensive snaps. There will be hype surrounding Wilson as a recent top 10 pick even if his rookie season was considered a disappointment.
But the defensive lineman coudl have a hard time improving on his numbers in Year 2. Maxx Crosby plays a huge share of the snaps for an edge rusher. Malcolm Koonce was a revelation at the end of last season and he's drawn rave reviews for his work this offseason.
Wilson showed some promise as a defensive tackle last season, but the acquisition of Christian Wilkins will take away some of that opportunity. The Raiders will want to pair a nose tackle like John Jenkins with him most of the time.
The 6'6", 271-pounder will still be given every chance to improve his stock. It's not like they'll give up on a player with his frame and skills even if new general manager Tom Telesco didn't draft him.
However, there are lofty expectations to get on the field with this defensive front and Wilson hasn't proven he's up for that yet.
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