The Oakland Raiders have finally got a taste of the postseason and are now hungry for more. Oakland hadn’t posted a winning record since 2002 prior to last season, but one of the best offenses in the NFL helped lead the team to a 12-4 record and a Wild Card berth. The Raiders would have likely clinched a first-round bye, but an injury to Derek Carr late in the season left this team with zero options at quarterback. Now it’s time to build on those successes.
Oakland Raiders Futures Odds at BookMaker.eu
Raiders Over 9.5 Wins -115
Raiders Under 9.5 Wins -105
2017 Raiders Offense Preview
There aren’t going to be many offenses as explosive as Oakland this season. By all indications, Carr is healthy and has recovered nicely from the injury. He should take another step forward this season and emerge as one of the NFL’s elite quarterbacks and has plenty of talent around him.
The Raiders parted ways with Latavius Murray and will rely on Marshawn Lynch to pick up yards between the tackles. ‘Beast Mode’ took a season off last year but hasn’t picked up any rust and should be a noticeable upgrade from Murray. He is a physical runner that runs through arm tackles and will break off big gains behind an offensive line that can pave the way.
Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree have been a great pair of receivers for Carr to grow with and now they have another big addition. Oakland signed Jared Cook from Green Bay in the offseason and that gives the Raiders a home-run hitter at tight end for the first time in a decade. Cook drops more passes than he should, but has the physical tools to go crazy in this offense.
2017 Raiders Defense Preview
It’s all about Khalil Mack on defense. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year has a chance to be even better this season as he matures and gets more used to NFL offenses. If another pass rusher can emerge alongside of him, that will free up space for everyone to operate and could lead to this defense becoming even better.
The secondary has a lot of questions to answer outside of cornerback David Amerson. Karl Joseph was taken in the first-round last season, but has dealt with injuries for the last two seasons and needs to stay on the field. Reggie Nelson and Sean Smith are potential liabilities that must be protected somewhat, otherwise this team could be in a lot of shootouts.
2017 Oakland Raiders Schedule Analysis
Oakland will be matched with the AFC East and NFC East in cross-divisional play and that could give the team some problems. The NFC East has some of the more talented quarterbacks in the league and any of the four could light up this Raiders defense.
Facing the AFC East is quite nice though. Although Oakland does have to face the Patriots, the Jets are the worst team in the NFL and the Raiders will probably be favored over both Miami and Buffalo. They do play in a very tough division, but have easily the best offense in the AFC West.
The Final Verdict
Oakland should regress this season. The Raiders were a little fortunate last season according to advanced metrics and only should have won nine or ten games instead of twelve.
However, this team has more talent than last season’s roster did. The offense should be even better than it was last season and the Raiders should be favored to win the division provided the defense can be halfway decent. Mack is a superstar, but there’s no one else you can reliably count on.
This one is lined low because of the potential for regression, but even if this team finishes one or two games worse than last year, it will be over the number. Oakland has less questions than any other team in the division and should finish with 10 or 11 wins.
NFL Odds: Oakland Raiders Over 9.5 Wins (-115)
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