Last summer, Raider Nation was dreaming about Pete Carroll and Geno Smith teaming up in Las Vegas. A year later, neither man is around anymore, and the conversation around the 2026 Raiders has shifted fast. The expectations are still there - and they’re simple enough: this team has to be better.
A big reason for that belief is Klint Kubiak. Fresh off a Super Bowl victory with the Seattle Seahawks, the new head coach is expected to lift the offense’s baseline in a major way. Add in a rookie quarterback, a few players with something to prove, and there’s a real case to be made that the Raiders’ offense could look a lot different than the outside world expects.
CBS Sports’ Jared Dublin recently ranked every NFL team’s offensive infrastructure for next season, and Las Vegas landed in tier 4 as an “average incubators” group. Dublin pointed to Kubiak’s play-calling, a solid offensive line anchored by Tyler Linderbaum and Kolton Miller, and Ashton Jeanty as a dependable running back. The issue, as he sees it, is the pass-catching group beyond Brock Bowers.
“The Raiders have a very good play caller in new head coach Klint Kubiak, a solid offensive line anchored by Tyler Linderbaum and Kolton Miller and a solid running back with Ashton Jeanty, all of which helps prop up the fact that their pass catchers are below-average outside of Brock Bowers. Add it all up and you come up with an ecosystem that is just about average for No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza,” said Dublin.
That “average” label doesn’t have to stick. In fact, it’s easy to see a path where the Raiders blow past it.
The real swing factor is Fernando Mendoza. Kirk Cousins wasn’t mentioned, and that’s not the point anyway. Mendoza is the one who can turn this thing from ordinary to dangerous, and his growth will shape how far the offense goes.
Even before you get to the quarterback, there’s room for this group to take off. Jeanty was described as solid, which fits after an underwhelming rookie season, but Year 2 could be a different story if the offensive line holds up. A healthier, better blocking front changes everything for a back like that.
Bowers is already among the NFL’s best tight ends, and Jeanty has a chance to work his way into the top 10 running back discussion. The wide receiver room, unless the Raiders make a late-summer addition, is still the wide receiver room. But the overall structure gives them a chance to create problems for defenses.
By next summer, the talk around this offense could sound completely different. The full roster picture is still coming into focus, but one thing feels clear from here: Las Vegas should have no shortage of explosive plays in 2026.
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The bigger concern is that the problems were not only about talent up front. Commentary around the season pointed to a coaching disconnect, with the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach not fully aligned on how the system should be taught or carried out. For Jeanty, that leaves the Raiders with an uncomfortable question heading into the future: how much of what looked like a disappointing rookie run was really on the back, and how much was the structure around him? [Read more 🡒]