Silver And Black Pride
The Las Vegas Raiders still have a little over 3.5 months till their week one matchup vs the Miami Dolphins at 4:25 EST on September 13th. The Raiders have a series of camp battles to keep an eye on over the next few months prior to their roster cuts, it’s only May but things can unfold pretty quickly as to who the starters will end up being for the Las Vegas Raiders. The Raiders will see at least a few new starters from this time last year after parting ways with receiver Jakobi Meyers at the trade deadline, trading QB Geno Smith to the Jets in March, and letting Alex Cappa, Dylan Parham, and Stone Forsythe who started at LT, LG, and C last season walk in free agency. The Raiders offensively rank near the bottom of the NFL for returning snaps, which for a 3-14 team should be the case. These predictions aren’t for the full season, but what I predict the starting lineup is come week 1 against the Dolphins.
Quarterback: Kirk Cousins
This battle is the biggest one to watch throughout camp, Las Vegas selected Fernando Mendoza first overall and the 22 year old will likely push for the Raiders starting quarterback position. Las Vegas paid Cousins 10 million in 2026, and another 10 million in 2027 and it’s hard to see a path where he’s not the starter come week 1. Cousins has experience with Andrew Janocko & Klint Kubiak from his time with the Vikings, and Las Vegas will likely search to have Cousins play a high level to entice a possible trade in 2026. Mendoza likely will take over the Raiders starting QB position at some point this season, and the obvious time comes after the bye week where Mendoza would have 4-5 games of fully starting and a week to prepare as the starter. Mendoza would likely need to be incredibly far along to take the spot from Cousins in week 1.
Runningback: Ashton Jeanty
There’s no real battle here for the Raiders, Jeanty struggled at times in his rookie season, largely due to a near historically bad offensive line in terms of run blocking. Jeanty despite having 3.8 yards per carry, still ranked top 5 in elusiveness rating, forced missed tackles, broken tackles, yards after contact, yards after contact per attempt, breakaway rate, and had 1321 yards from scrimmage with 10 total touchdowns. Jeanty will see a massive role in the Raiders offense under Klint Kubiak who’s focal point will be on the running game, and with increased run blocking up front, Jeanty should have a plethora of success. Jeanty will also likely see his total touches come down a touch from 321 to help preserve his legs, and increase the workload for 4th round rookie Mike Washington Jr
Wide Receivers: Jack Bech, Tre Tucker, Jalen Nailor (slot)
I’d argue the Raiders wide receiver room is pretty set at the top three, but their 4, 5, and possibly 6th receiver spots are...
