When you consider how their season began and the midseason alterations the squad went through to get 5-5, the Las Vegas Raiders can make an unlikely postseason run.
Interim head coach Antonio Pierce has transformed the tone in the locker room, and it’s showing on the field. Since taking over for former head coach Josh McDaniels, who struggled to use the club’s offensive talent, he’s gone 2-0.
After victories over the New York Giants and New York Jets, the Raiders will move on to a more difficult stretch of the schedule, with games against the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs on the horizon.
While it’s nice to see the Raiders gaining momentum before facing playoff-caliber teams, they’ll surely need to increase their level of play, beginning Sunday against the Dolphins.
Coach Pierce and his staff can make squad changes to meet up with the high-flying offenses and stout defenses that his team will face in the coming weeks in order to compete with clubs at the top of the AFC.
We’ll look at five personnel moves the Raiders can make to help them compete against top-tier opponents.
Follow along with each Raiders game on the updated NFL game schedule.
Fast-track cornerback Jack Jones into a big role
If not for academic struggles and off-field transgressions, Jones may have been a Day 2 pick last year. He had a solid rookie campaign as a starter with the Patriots, logging six pass breakups and two interceptions while allowing a 54.1 percent completion rate and zero touchdowns in 13 starts.
As previously mentioned, the Raiders don’t have a consistent defender on the interior who can stop the run. On top of that, the team hasn’t had an interior pass rusher to take pressure off its edge rushers. Maxx Crosby can wreck the opponent’s game plan, but the Raiders cannot expect him to do it every week.
At 6-foot-6”, 275 pounds, Tyree Wilson may have the size and the quickness, if he gets off the ball with urgency, to win battles at the line of scrimmage on the interior.
Graham should find out if Wilson has inside-out versatility. He can move the rookie first-rounder between the edge rushers on obvious passing downs to test him against slower defensive tackles.
After undergoing foot surgery early this year and missing just about all of training camp, Wilson has had a slow start to the season, but he’s made incremental progress in recent weeks. Since Week 7, the Texas Tech product has logged 10 tackles and 1.5 sacks.
Wilson can pick up momentum in the remaining seven contests, though Graham could unlock another feature of his game by lining him up in different spots between Crosby and Koonce.
Related: How does the Las Vegas Raiders defense stack up to the competition?
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