3 Players Raiders Must Target to Get Back in the Playoff Race
It took four weeks, but Josh McDaniels finally got his first win as Las Vegas Raiders head coach on Sunday.
The Raiders' 32-23 win over the Denver Broncos brings some life to a team that got off to a dreadful start. It also served as a reminder that their season is not already lost.
A 1-3 start is less than ideal, but it isn't a death sentence. As the team continues to grow in McDaniels' schemes, the chance of Las Vegas getting hot and going on a run that could resurrect its season isn't beyond reasonable.
Of course, it wouldn't hurt to bring in some reinforcements to make that happen.
The Raiders still clearly have some personnel issues and utilizing the trade market or free agency to improve their roster could be critical in getting the most out of this season.
OG Michael Schofield, Chicago Bears
The much-maligned offensive line in Vegas is finally starting to come together.
Kolton Miller has never been the problem. The return of Andre James gives the Raiders a good center and allows them to move rookie interior lineman Dylan Parham to right guard, giving them answers to three of the five slots.
Left guard and right tackle remain an issue, though.
Alex Bars is ranked 68th of 71 guards by PFF. Jermaine Eluemunor ranks 62nd out of 70 tackles. Both are aged 27 and experienced enough that they aren't likely to get much better.
Unfortunately, it's hard to find good help on the O-line at this point in the season.
Michael Schofield stands out as a possible exception, though. The guard played 907 snaps last season, giving up just two sacks while earning a respectable 66.8 grade from PFF.
The 31-year-old is currently on the Chicago Bears roster but has yet to see any action.
With the Bears in a full-on rebuild, it would be worth the Raiders at least calling to see if a Day 3 pick might be enough to entice them into sending him to Vegas.
Edge Robert Quinn, Chicago Bears
While general manager Dave Ziegler is on the phone with the Chicago Bears about Michael Schofield, he would do well to inquire about Robert Quinn, too.
The edge defender is coming off an 18.5-sack season but has yet to make a similar impact under new head coach Matt Eberflus. He doesn't have a sack through four weeks, but some of that is a product of playing in a new scheme and not having Khalil Mack alongside him.
As Seth Walder of ESPN noted, Quinn's double-team rate went up from 19 percent in 2021 to 36 percent in 2022.
If the 32-year-old did join the Silver and Black, teams would be unable to double-team him considering the success Maxx Crosby is having.
The team committed big money to Chandler Jones this offseason but that hasn't come with much payoff. He has just one tackle for loss and no sacks through four games.
The Raiders and Bears would have to work out a deal in which Chicago still takes on some of Quinn's salary, but it would be worth the cost to bring in another edge-rusher who will actually get results.
DT Sheldon Richardson, Free Agent
The Raiders have relied on a heavy rotation of Bilal Nichols, Andrew Billings, Kendal Vickers and Johnathan Hankins on the interior with mixed results.
Nichols has been a disappointment thus far. After struggling with injuries in the preseason, he has come back and ranks 95th out of 123 interior defenders on PFF with a grade of 49.0. The Raiders clearly don't trust rookie Matthew Butler to be part of the rotation. He's played just seven snaps this season.
Nichols, Neil Farrell and John Haskins are all currently listed on the injury report. So it isn't going to take much for the Raiders' depth to be depleted quickly.
Sheldon Richardson is a free agent who could help right away. The veteran is 31 years old but played in 17 games for the Minnesota Vikings last season.
He had 2.5 sacks and 13 quarterback hits, which is the kind of pass-rush upside the Raiders could use.