Areas of Opportunity: Offensive line, cornerback, even quarterback remain spots of need for Raiders

Free agency and upcoming draft gives Las Vegas opportunities to add more talent

The Las Vegas Raiders made a big splash to fill a roster void by adding impact defensive tackle Christian Wilkins at the onset of free agency.

To avoid further holes, the team also re-signed Andre James to man the pivot along the offensive line as well as defensive tackles John Jenkins and Adam Butler to have quality veterans who can still produce in the trenches. Las Vegas also added quarterback Gardner Minshew to provide experience and competition to the all-important position. And signed free agents Alexander Mattison and Harrison Bryant to mix it up as role players at running back and tight end, respectively.

But despite that, the Silver & Black have areas of opportunity regarding the roster and as free agency slogs along with the 2024 NFL Draft arriving at the tail end of April, general manager Tom Telesco and head coach Antonio Pierce have ample opportunity to add to the roster.

Offensive line remains an area of need as does cornerback, wide receiver, and even quarterback.

In terms of what kind of coin Telesco has remaining, Spotrac has the Raiders’ caps space at just over $20 million. This doesn’t include the contracts the team gave to Butler and Mattison, however. All things considered, Las Vegas has operating room.

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Offensive Line

Specifically guard and offensive tackle.

James’ return shores up center while incumbents Kolton Miller and Dylan Parham provide two starters at left tackle and guard. Veteran Greg Van Roten manned the right guard spot and it still on the open market as an unrestricted free agent. But he’s 34 years young and may not be a schematical fit for the new scheme offensive line boss James Cregg is installing in Las Vegas.

Free agency is thinning out at the guard spot although, Dalton Risner is an intriguing player still available. He’s 28-years-old and has the mean streak and movement skills to make a run at the starting right guard spot for the Raiders. Ditto on available free agents at right tackle — the pickings are getting slim. Thayer Munford Jr. is a promising young player the previous regime drafted in the seventh round two years ago and he got valuable starting experience at both left and right tackle this past season.

Adding more competition and depth to crave out starters on the offensive line is likely coming down to the draft.

At tackle, Penn State’s Olumuyiwa Fashanu and Notre Dame’s Joe Alt are the early top prospects and might be out of the Raiders’ reach picking at No. 13 overall. Although, Oregon State’s Taliese Fuaga, Alabama’s JC Latham, and Georgia’s Amarius Mims present talented first-round talent, too.

Flip it to guard and Washington’s Troy Fautanu, Oregon’s Jackson Powers-Johnson, and Kansas State’s Cooper Beebe are a trio of intriguing prospects.

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Cornerback

Las Vegas has one of its starting outside corners in Jack Jones and a stout nickel back/slot corner in Nate Hobbs. Outside of that are unknowns. Jakorian Bennett heads into Year 2 with promise, while veteran Brandon Facyson is still on the roster. Reserves Sam Webb and Cornell Armstrong are also on the roster.

Not quite the inspiring list of Silver & Black cornerbacks, is it?

Las Vegas reportedly had veteran Tre’Davious White in for a visit and free agency has a mix of veteran talent (Xavien Howard, Adoree’ Jackson, Stephon Gilmore, to name a few) along with younger players (C.J. Henderson and Kristian Fulton for example).

The Raiders could merely look at the draft to grab a top prospect at No. 13 or in later rounds. Alabama’s Terrion Arnold and Toledo’s Quinyon Mitchell are the top two prospects at the moment. Clemon’s Nate Wiggins, Alabama’s Kool-Aid McKinstry, and Iowa’s Cooper DeJean are also intriguing talents. Wiggins and DeJean, along with Oregon’s Khyree Jackson and Iowa State’s T.J. Tampa would provide the Raiders with bigger cornerbacks as each is 6-foot-1 or taller.

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Wide Receiver

Now that Hunter Renfrow was officially released, Las Vegas top three receivers are: Davante Adams, Jakob Meyers, and Tre Tucker. Behind that trio are D.J. Turner and Kristian Wilkerson. Safe to assume that the current list of five wideouts grows soon enough.

The recently released Michael Gallup is a veteran option on the open market as does DJ Chark, however, just how much more financial assets Telesco wants to sink into the position group is unclear. There are one-year flier types in free agency too, like Mecole Hardman and Jaylen Gutyon.

If Las Vegas is looking to add more speed to the wide receiver room while also being fiscally responsible, the draft has a crop of fleet-footed options.

Texas’ Xavier Worthy clocked in the fastest 40-yard dash time at the NFL Combine (4.21 seconds) while LSU’s Brian Thomas Jr. and Worthy’s teammate Adonai Mitchell each clocked in 4.33 and 4.34 times respectively. A mid-round prospect like Arizona’s Jacob Cowing (4.38) and North Carolina’s Devontez Walker (4.36) have long speed, too.

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Quarterback

Las Vegas has two bridge-types on the roster in Aidan O’Connell and free agent addition Gardner Minshew. Giving the pair of quarterbacks that designation isn’t a knock on either one. They both showed they can be the starter if called upon.

But with Minshew hitting age 28 and O’Connell age 26 over the course of the 2024 campaign and having profiles of quality backups and spot starters, Telesco would be wise to eye a prospect in the upcoming draft. (Also, there’s high likelihood O’Connell and Minshew duke it out for QB1 even if Las Vegas drafted a quarterback).

The trio of USC’s Caleb Williams, North Carolina’s Drake Maye, and LSU’s Jayen Daniels are heavily speculated to be gone within the first five picks leaving Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy, Washington’s Michael Penix Jr., and Oregon’s Bo Nix as the next trio behind them. Telesco could pull the trigger on the latter trio at No. 13 since it’s a need and getting a fifth-year option with a first-round pick is a valuable bargaining chip, too.

Or, the Raiders could draft another developmental-type prospect in the mid to late rounds such as South Carolina’s Spencer Rattler, Florida State’s Jordan Travis or Tennessee’s Joe Milton III.