The Raiders came into the offseason with a clear blueprint for fixing both their coaching staff and their roster, and three games into the season, that work is starting to show. Las Vegas is unbeaten, and even with a few early obstacles, the organization looks to be moving in the right direction.
Now comes another test. The Raiders head into Sunday’s matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs without wide receiver Jack Bech, who was injured in the Week 3 win over the New Orleans Saints. That leaves an already fragile receiver group even thinner in a game where both teams are undefeated entering Week 4.
Offensive coordinator Andrew Janocko said the Raiders have spent the offseason preparing for exactly this kind of situation.
"I think anytime you lose a guy, you have to have that next man up mentality, and I know that's a cliche that gets thrown around all the time. But, if we're really about being a 70-man roster, then that's something that we have to pride ourselves in, is that the next guy's ready to go, next guy's ready to step up.
It's a great challenge for us as coaches getting the next guys ready to play and having them ready to play at all times. So then when their number's called upon, they can have success."
The plan now is to lean harder into the parts of the offense that already give Las Vegas flexibility. That means more two-tight-end looks, and more chances to use one of the league’s better tight end pairings to take some of the load off the receivers. Through three games, the Raiders have shown they can move the ball with different personnel groupings, and Sunday should bring another round of that.
Janocko said the offense is built around players who can be moved around and used in a variety of ways.
“Our skill players have to do a multitude of things. So, everything, whether he's in line, out, I don't really know if we put a name on anything, but we just ask guys to plug and play in different positions.
Whether it's him, or whether it's other players in our offense. We see guys put in different spots, and really ultimately, we're just trying to make the guys successful in whatever they do,” Janocko said.
That flexibility is what the Raiders were aiming for all offseason, not just with the top of the depth chart but with the entire roster. They built the receiver room with a committee approach, and they also leaned into their two-tight-end foundation. Both of those choices are about to get a real stress test against Kansas City.
The receiver group will need Jalen Nailor, Tre Tucker, Malik Benson, and Cody White to hold up. The tight ends, Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer, should make that job easier by creating space and giving the offense more ways to attack.
Las Vegas can also ease the burden by getting the run game going. Another way to help the whole offense would be to get Ashton Jeanty involved in the passing game again. Janocko and the Raiders would benefit from at least five targets for Jeanty on Sunday and in the games ahead, no matter how many yards those catches produce.
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Tom Bradys Latest Rankings Set Up A Chiefs Debate
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The rankings also created a little extra buzz at the top, especially with the Seahawks sliding to No. 6 after their first loss and Brock Purdy drawing praise for what he has done so far. For the Raiders, the placement is a reminder that their start has earned attention beyond the AFC West, even as the bigger conversation around the early-season hierarchy continues to revolve around who belongs near the very top. [Read more 🡒]