Las Vegas Training Camp 2024 Preview

Las Vegas Training Camp 2024 Preview

The Raiders are the Raiders, the team is still just kinda there. Not one of the worst teams in the league but no where near the best either. The Raiders finished the season 8-9 last year in another mediocre finish to the season. The Raiders could be better by maybe one game, but they can also be worse by a few games, time will tell. This team will still finish around 8-9 again in my honest opinion. However, the season hasn’t started yet and before the season is the training camp. Here is the Las Vegas Training Camp preview.

Three Position Battles To Watch

QB: Gardner Minshew vs. Aidan O’Connell

Let’s get this position battle out the way first in our Raiders training camp preview. You don’t have to know anything about the Raiders and know that this is the position battle everyone is wondering about. Gardner Minshew, an NFL journey man that got paid, well let’s just say, not backup QB money and we have Aidan O’Connell, second-year player that could have potential despite the offense shitshow last year. Gardner Minshew can play a little bit, there are some limitations to his game, you’ll never win a Super Bowl with the guy, but he can make some magic happen during games and some plays you’re wondering what just happened? They don’t call him Minshew Magic for nothing after all. With Aidan O’Connell you have prototypical pocket passer QB. I don’t think he has the physical ability to be anything else (he’s slow as shit). The inability to extend plays and think on his feet (literally) hurt O’Connell last year. We will have to see how both of them run Luke Getsky’s offense. They could choose to try to develop Aidan O’Connell and possibly draft a QB next year. Or, if the Raiders truly think they can make the playoffs and contend, they might run with Gardner Minshew. Time will tell.

Nickel CB: Jakorian Bennett vs. Decamerion Richardson vs. Brandon Facyson vs. Sam Webb vs. MJ Devonshire

I believe the starting CB spots are solidified with Jack Jones, who showed out for the Raiders multiple times after being claimed off waivers last year, and Nate Hobbs, promising CB that might be the best on the roster. The rest of this group are guys that have bright spots but also have low lights. These guys will be fighting for the Nickel Corner spot or CB3 on the roster. I think Jakorian Bennett can play and he has some really good plays, but he is also very handsy and is known for getting DPIs consistently. Brandon Facyson is a familiar face for Raiders fans as he started with the Gus Bradley defense for the Raiders, he can play a little bit but as seemed to fall off a bit since leaving.

Sam Webb has good coverage on WRs as long as he is in the right spot. He has good ball skills and can make plays. However, he is boom or bust in reading the play right, if that dude makes a wrong read, he’s not golden brown crispy burnt, he’s we have to get a whole new oven burnt. In my opinion, too much of a liability for my liking. Decamerion Richardson and MJ Devonshire are rookies that could contend for the spot. Decamerion Richardson was a reach for many people, but his athletic ability can’t be denied, he will have to be able to translate that to playing corner better. Devonshire has good feet and can move enough to play nickel corner, but he is definitely on the outside looking in for the spot.

Right Tackle: Thayer Munford Jr. vs. DJ Glaze

You’re just waiting for Thayer Munford Jr. to make a name for himself but it just hasn’t happened yet. The Raiders went and drafted DJ Glaze in the third-round. Some considered this a reach as there might have been better options on the board. Glaze has the length needed for the NFL but his feet might not be fast enough for the speed of the NFL, time will tell if he can develop that in the Raiders training camp. Thayer Munford Jr. can play and has great plays, but he can also dip into where Glaze has troubles, inconsistent feet, can be beat. It’s really going to come down on who can be more consistent to start at RT for this team, it should be Munford, but he struggles, Glaze could sneak his way in there.

Ready To Breakout: Tre Tucker

The 2nd-year player could be ready to break out this year. He did make some progress in his game and has speed to take the top off the defense. He started making more of an impact in the 2nd half of the year for the Raiders, including the last game of the year where he had 5 receptions for 79 yards. There’s hope that Tre Tucker could be the true slot guy for the Raiders and he can be solidified as the WR3 for this group behind Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers.

Rookie To Watch: Dylan Laube

I thought about putting Brock Bowers here, but let’s be honest, we will all be watching Brock Bowers no matter what. The Raiders were able to steal him at 13 in the 2024 NFL draft. Although the Raiders selected Michael Mayer the year before, that didn’t stop them from taking an arguable top 5 player in the draft. It will truly be intriguing to see how they use him in the offense.

However, Dylan Laube is the rookie to watch for this Raiders training camp preview. Can he play? Does he have a chance to be a true receiving RB that Raiders have been needing? Possibly. It’s very likely that the Raiders have him and Tre Tucker fight for return duties, especially if the Raiders expect Tre Tucker to breakout as a WR, they might let Laube take those duties. However, Laube in the game will often limit the Raiders and tip the play. Laube can’t run through the tackles, can’t block, in fact, if he is in the game, it’s 99% he’s running a route, the other 1% is that the Raiders just wasted a play trying to do anything else with him (likely). Seeing how the Raiders use him will be interesting, if he makes the roster that is.

Fantasy Sleeper: Tre Tucker

I alluded to it earlier, but Tre Tucker could see himself in a fantasy sleeper role for Las Vegas in this Raiders training camp preview. They could try to give him the ball on long plays and let his speed take over. He is known to be used on jet sweeps as well. If your fantasy league does this (they should), he could get you points on return yards if he is returning the ball. I’m not saying it’ll be crazy but he had 19 receptions last year and barely got to play half the season. Maybe we see a scenario where he gets 50 receptions and deep ball yards, or screen plays and letting him run. He might not get you many TDs, but maybe he can fill out your roster on a flier pick and get you some points.

The Raiders aren’t there yet, the obvious need for a QB is glaring. The Raiders will be on the outside looking in for a playoff spot. There is some talent on this team, I would consider their DL the best part of the team, but there’s still too many holes to be taken seriously as a playoff-caliber team. They might sneak in on will power but I doubt it. If they can get one of the top QBs next year in the draft though, this team might be cooking with peanut oil.

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