MORE PREVIEWS: ARI | ATL | BAL | BUF | CAR | CHI | CIN | CLE | DAL | DEN | DET | GB | HOU | IND | JAC | KC | LA | MIA | MIN | NE | NO | NYG | NYJ | OAK | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | SEA | TB | TEN | WAS
OAKLAND RAIDERS
Last Season: 7-9
Third place, AFC West
Preseason power ranking: 11
The Raiders surrounded their young and talented nucleus of QB Derek Carr, WR Amari Cooper and DE/OLB Khalil Mack with proven veterans in LG Kelechi Osemele, OLB Bruce Irvin, CB Sean Smith and FS Reggie Nelson. Second-year coach Jack Del Rio has changed the culture from one that hopes the team can make the playoffs to one that expects to be there, while general manager Reggie McKenzie has been rewarded with a four-year contract extension. There is little to no uncertainty when it comes to football in Oakland -- no on-field distractions. And while the rest of the AFC West either essentially stood pat or regressed, the Raiders improved this offseason.
There are still only six playoff spots available per conference, and four go to division winners. The defending Super Bowl champs still reside in the AFC West in the Denver Broncos, and they still boast an all-world defense. The Kansas City Chiefs were the hottest team in the league entering the playoffs last winter with that 10-game winning streak. Yes, the Raiders are a fashionable pick to rise, and they should be, but there are still many unanswered questions when it comes to how the new pieces fit with the young nucleus. That’s especially the case if the Raiders can avoid the type of late-game meltdowns that plagued them last season, when Carr threw especially costly pick-sixes against the Broncos at home and at Kansas City in the fourth quarter. The Raiders also blew fourth-quarter leads at Chicago and Detroit as well as at home against the Chiefs.
Raiders’ percentage chance to win each game
Sept. 11 @ New Orleans: 45.9
Sept. 18 vs. Atlanta: 68.6
Sept. 25 @ Tennessee: 54.2
Oct. 2 @ Baltimore: 38.7
Oct. 9 vs. San Diego: 67.9
Oct. 16 vs. Kansas City: 50.4
Oct. 23 @ Jacksonville: 45.7
Oct. 30 @ Tampa Bay: 47.1
Nov. 6 vs. Denver: 55.7
Nov. 21 vs. Houston: 54.5
Nov. 27 vs. Carolina: 52.1
Dec. 4 vs. Buffalo: 65.0
Dec. 8 @ Kansas City: 33.2
Dec. 18 @ San Diego: 53.1
Dec. 24 vs. Indianapolis 62.0
Jan. 1 @ Denver: 37.2
Paul Gutierrez’s game-by-game predictions
In the up-and-comers category, Carr may be the hottest in the league. The gains he made in his second year, as well as his four fourth-quarter comebacks, have inflated the Raiders’ confidence in the 25-year-old. -- Dan Graziano
Mack already made history by being named first-team All-Pro at two positions in the same year, so how can he be an X factor? By being even better. Mack is already the most dynamic front-seven player in the league not named J.J. Watt or Von Miller, so if he can take it up a notch -- and we’re not just talking about more than 15 sacks -- he could conceivably single-handedly carry the Raiders to their first playoff appearance since 2002.
Cooper’s 10 drops last season were the second most in the NFL, per ESPN Stats & Information, and a foot injury slowed him in the final quarter of the season. Yet he was still able to turn in the Raiders’ first 1,000-yard receiving season since Randy Moss in 2005. An offseason of getting to know Carr -- the two were training camp roommates -- should help him improve on his rookie line of 72 catches for 1,070 yards and six touchdowns.
Yes, Latavius Murray rushed for 1,066 yards last season, but it took him 266 carries to get there, so while Del Rio wants more attempts from Murray, he also wants more explosive productivity than 4.0 yards per rush and 66.6 yards rushing per game. So if Murray gets closer to the 5.2 yards per carry he averaged in 2014 and DeAndre Washington provides a true change-of-pace option and produces, the Raiders’ passing game will also benefit because opponents won’t be able to focus on one option. That would mean the Raiders’ offense in general, and Carr in particular, could take that next step.