Last season's Las Vegas Raiders looked like a disaster under then-head coach Josh McDaniels. They went 3-5 in their first eight games but failed to score more than 21 points in a single one of them, and there was strife throughout the organization.
Things improved over the second half of the year under then-interim coach Antonio Pierce, who won the top job on a full-time basis earlier this offseason. Vegas went 5-4, with one of those wins coming against the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in their own stadium. The defense under Pierce took a massive step forward, looking like a top-10 unit. And then the Raiders added Christian Wilkins on a massive free-agent deal this offseason.
But there are still questions about the offense. With the exception of a 63-point explosion against the Chargers in Week 15, the Raiders topped 21 points under Pierce only once. They hired a new offensive coordinator this offseason in Luke Getsy, and they drafted Brock Bowers and Jackson Powers-Johnson. They did let Josh Jacobs leave in free agency, though, and their only addition at quarterback was Gardner Minshew.
So, what is the potential for the Vegas offense in 2024? One person who is not interested in hearing anything about that is star wide receiver Davante Adams.
"I mean, you stop talking about potential when you're like 10 years old," Adams said, via ESPN. "So, at the end of the day, it don't really matter how good we can be. I definitely wouldn't want to put any expectations on anybody, but it's no secret we've got some dangerous weapons on the team as a whole, not to mention offense."
The Raiders do have a few weapons in Adams, Jakobi Meyers, Bowers and last year's second-round pick, Michael Mayer. But the question mark under center, where either Minshew or Aidan O'Connell will take the snaps, seem like the kind of thing that will hold the Raiders back.
The prognosticators in the Raiders' home town certainly have that view: The Raiders are tied for the 23rd-best Super Bowl odds (+8000) at Caesars Sportsbook, while only three teams have a lower over/under than Las Vegas' 6.5 wins. It will take the offense surpassing expectations for them to top those marks, and Adams will obviously play a big role in whether or not they can pull that off.
