Oakland Raiders: 5 players who must improve

With Jon Gruden back as head coach, these five players must improve for the Oakland Raiders this year.

The Oakland Raiders looked like a team on the rise in 2016, with a 12-4 record, an AFC West title and a potential threat to the New England Patriots before Derek Carr’s late-season injury. But they regressed big last year, to 6-10, and a four-game losing streak to end the season cost Jack Del Rio his job as head coach.

After nearly a decade in the Monday Night Football booth, Jon Gruden is back as head coach in Oakland. He has driven the signing of a lot of veteran players this offseason, which has the Raiders looking in part like a team that would have been very good five or six years ago.

But any move Oakland makes back to playoff contention, and back toward the top of the AFC West, will be mostly driven by a bounce back from key players that were already in place.

On that note, these five Raiders simply must improve in 2018.

5. Gareon Conley

After being drafted in the first round (No. 24 overall) in 2017, Conley played just two games (92 snaps) as a rookie due to a shin injury. But he is participating in OTAs without limitations, and last year’s 26th-ranked pass defense that had a league-low five interceptions will need Conley healthy and ready to step up.

The Raiders cut Sean Smith in March, after a drop-off in his play to go along with an off-field issue which led to a prison sentence. T.J. Carrie, a top-25 cornerback in the league last year (as graded by Pro Football Focus) was allowed to depart in free agency. In their place, Rashaan Melvin was signed to take a starting spot at corner and fourth-round pick Nick Nelson may not play this year after tearing a meniscus during a pre-draft workout.

Any real improvement the Raiders’ secondary shows this year will rest on Conley being what he was drafted to be–a legit No. 1 corner.