AFC West power rankings: Who has the best offense?

The Raiders didn’t make a ton of big-name signings in free agency as they transition from Oakland to Las Vegas, but they did add a lot more juice to the offense.

Picking Alabama speed demon Henry Ruggs in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft before adding Kentucky Swiss Army knife Lynn Bowden and South Carolina leader Bryan Edwards in the third round shows that Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock saw how tame and placid their passing game was last season.

These rookies will start their pro careers in an offense that has a lot to like, as their offensive line remains solid thanks to the presence of stalwarts like Rodney Hudson and Trent Brown. Josh Jacobs, fresh off running for 1,150 yards and seven touchdowns during his rookie season, is emerging as one of the best young backs in the league.

Where the Raiders fall down, unfortunately, is at quarterback. It’s become perfect clear that Derek Carr is a solid NFL quarterback who can start and win games in this league, but the Raiders might have plateaued and could be running out of patience as it pertains to Carr finally making the leap from decent to elite.

While he stats look ordinary, Marcus Mariota played most of his career in Tennessee with bad coaches and wide receivers, and he has more than enough talent and accuracy to supplant Carr as the starting quarterback.

Even with the boatload of SEC talent that they brought in, the Raiders will rely on three different rookies to all play major roles in the passing game, which could cause trouble for a coach in Gruden who doesn’t put up with a ton of growing pains. In addition, this could be a make-or-break year for the notoriously inconsistent Kolton Miller at left tackle.

The Raiders might once again struggle to break .500, but that can be attributed to the poor defense and competition in their division. Be it Carr or Mariota under center, the Raiders should have one of the more fun offenses in the AFC during their first year in Vegas.