5 Key Moves the Las Vegas Raiders Made During the Offseason

1. Nelson Agholor

This man is dangerous, and he proved it during Super Bowl LLI by cutting up The New England Patriots defense for 83 yards. Of course, that was several years and an even bigger number of drops ago, but the change of scenery mixed with how young he still is could create a man that Derek Carr can rely on in crunch time.

Again, he is going to have to get passed his multitude of drops over the years and be the Agholor of old, but he might not even have to do that. In fact, between weapons like Henry Ruggs III, Jason Witten, and Josh Jacobs on the ground, The Raiders should have no problem moving the ball this season.

2. Nick Kwiatkoski

It s no secret that The Las Vegas Raiders need to step up their game on defense in 2020 and hopefully Nick Kwiatkoski will be the start of that. The Raiders signed him to a three-year deal over this offseason and while it s not a fix-all solution to the problem, 63, tackles, three sacks, and an interception in eight games is a promising start. A start in what is what could be the defense stiffening up and being able to stop some of those more successful teams.

3. Damarious Randall

Damarious Randall is yet another defensive player that The Las Vegas Raiders recruited during the offseason and he will hopefully play a key part in jump-starting the defense. Beyond that, his 61 tackles, three QB hits and three tackles for a loss last season could point to him really helping The Raiders take that next step.

4. Jason Witten

Jason Witten might not look like much in today s NFL. In fact, after 16 seasons in the NFL, and several injuries throughout that time, he might just look like a has been fighting for one more shot at glory. The problem with that thinking however is that Witten has proven himself to be very consistent during his storied career.

Witten probably will never match the 1000-yard seasons that he had in Dallas, but he doesn't need to. Furthermore, with Derek Carr being a consistent passer, having Witten will allow Carr to rely on him in key moments and when the team reaches the red zone.

5. Marcos Mariota

While Marcus Mariota has had a troubled past as quarterback of The Tennessee Titans, especially since he never played an entire season throughout his career due to injuries, he could be a key motivator for The Raiders. In fact, if Carr finds himself unable to make plays and move the ball down the field in an efficient manner, Mariota could be the starter.

Of course, Mariota will have to stay healthy and put up better numbers than he has lately, but it is possible that he could start. If nothing else, Carr has had six years at the helm of The Raider offense and hasn t done much with it. Maybe he will now that Mariota is in the picture, or maybe the former Titan will just end up taking his job.