A lot can change in the NFL without changing enough to matter in the standings, and the Raiders are living right in that uncomfortable space. Las Vegas should be better than the 3-14 team that sat near the bottom of the league in just about every category last season. But in the AFC West, where three teams have become regular playoff fixtures and the schedule is brutal, being improved is not the same thing as being dangerous.
That’s why Gerald McCoy’s take stands out. The former NFL defensive tackle, who spent a brief stretch with the Raiders in 2021 before a season-ending injury ended his run, went on The Rich Eisen Show and picked Las Vegas as his surprise team in the AFC for 2026.
"Going with the Raiders," McCoy said, while acknowledging his bias as a former Raider. "Maxx Crosby has a point to prove.
He's a little pissed off. Actually, he's a lot of pissed off.
I was just with Maxx in Vegas; he has a point to prove. And Maxx is extremely upset.
And he's going to have these guys on a mission. ... He's going to bring the guys with him."
McCoy said he saw Crosby at The Sack Summit and believes the star edge rusher is carrying plenty of fuel into the season. In McCoy’s view, Crosby is bothered both by the idea that the Raiders didn’t need him and by the Baltimore Ravens’ doubts about the strength of his knee. Either way, the message is clear: Crosby has plenty to prove, and that kind of edge can spread through a locker room fast.
That’s the part McCoy keeps coming back to. If the Raiders are following a fired-up Crosby, that’s a good place to start.
One Maxx Crosby is a problem for opposing offenses. A whole team leaning into that energy could be something more.
McCoy also didn’t dodge the quarterback question. From his perspective, the Raiders should think carefully before rushing Mendoza onto the field.
"If I am them, I take what they have, and I really look at, 'Is it necessary to throw Mendoza out there right now?' A lot of people say, "Just throw him out there, throw him in the fire, let him,'" McCoy said.
"Quarterback-wise, for me, I'd just let Kirk Cousins rock, and if you don't have to throw out the kid, then you don't throw out the kid. This offense, I believe that Kirk can run it.
It's in that [Sean] McVay tree, and he just knows how to run this offense."
That’s the blueprint McCoy is betting on: Crosby setting the tone on defense, Kirk Cousins running an offense McCoy believes he can handle, and a roster that looks more functional than it did a year ago. He thinks that combination gives Las Vegas a real chance to catch people off guard.
The bigger question is how far that actually takes them. McCoy sounds convinced the Raiders can be better, and fans around Las Vegas have been saying plenty of the same thing all offseason.
Whether that means more wins, a competitive week-to-week product, or even a playoff push is another matter. But after last season, simply looking like a team that belongs on the same field would be a major step forward.
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