Ranking Raiders 2025 free agents by re-sign priority

Before the offseason becomes about who the Raiders can add to the roster, it must be about who they keep. With a new coaching staff coming in, they won’t feel all that tied to the players on the roster right now. But they have to know which players …

Before the offseason becomes about who the Raiders can add to the roster, it must be about who they keep. With a new coaching staff coming in, they won’t feel all that tied to the players on the roster right now. But they have to know which players make or break this team as it’s currently comprised.

In that spirit, I ranked the Raiders free agents by how valuable they are to re-sign.

Priority: Very High

Hobbs is an outstanding slot corner. Both in coverage and as a tackler. Such players don’t grow on trees. You hold onto players like him when you get the chance.

Priority: Very High

Spillane is a tackling machine and one of the better middle linebackers out there. He also loves his Raiders teammates and would probably welcome a return. They should step up and hang onto him.

Priority: Somewhat High

They were lucky to get him back last year after he tested the market. They shouldn’t mess around this time. He proved he is an every-down caliber interior defender and earned a multi-year deal and they’d be smart to give it to him.

Priority: Somewhat High

Many teams may have forgotten the holy terror he was over the stretch run of the 2023 season because he was lost to injury prior to this past season. That should be enough for Koonce to want to take a one-year deal to have a shot at hitting the market on a high note next year.

Priority: Somewhat High

The former top college safety and second round pick is coming off his best season. He has been a full time starter all four seasons and is the top safety on the Raiders roster. With all three of their safeties headed for free agency, they should probably try and keep the best of them or risk having to rebuild the group this offseason.

Priority: Moderate

The former first round pick had a breakout season for the Raiders. Even though I named him their Comeback Player of the Year. His five sacks equaled his career total coming in. The Raiders got a find with him and it would be a shame to just let that find get away.

Priority: Moderate

The former college safety has become a decent starting outside for the Raiders. Could be a bit risky to let him go because there’s no guarantee you’ll find better and/or cheaper replacement.

Priority: Moderate

Epps was half of a pretty solid safety tandem along with Moehrig last season. He was lost in week three and the coaching staff liked Isaiah Pola-Mao enough I could see them letting Epps walk. Will the new staff feel similarly?

Priority: Low

The ten-year veteran showed his value as a triple threat — running back, receiver, return specialist — late in the season. He would likely be cheap to re-sign and is clearly still got it.

Priority: Low

An outstanding special teams player. You get a mixed bag on defense from Pola-Mao. He’s a restricted free agent, which means it will be easy to retain him with a tender.

Priority: Low

A 17-game starter and had his moments. But overall, it may be time for the Raiders to move on from the 36-year-old to their young core of defensive tackles.

CB Darnay Holmes (1 start)
RB Alexander Mattison
WR Terrace Marshall
TE Harrison Bryant
T Andrus Peat
G Cody Whitehair

Raiders 2024 year-end awards: Top newcomer, best position group, most disappointing addition, more

The 2024 NFL season is behind us. So, let’s take a look back and hand out some awards. Some of which will be good ones. Some…not so much.

The 2024 NFL season is behind us. So, let’s take a look back and hand out some awards. Some of which will be good ones. Some…not so much.

This was an easy choice. Bowers is not just the Raiders top rookie, he is arguably the top rookie in the NFL. He is a long shot for Offensive Rookie of theYear due to the existence of Jayden Daniels, but there is a case to be made that he should win it due to the historic numbers he put up this seasons including rookie TE receiving yards record (1194), rookie receptions record (112), and Raiders franchise single-season receptions record.

He was added for nothing and without a lot of fanfare. The round seven rookie was waived by the Colts in their final roster cuts and claimed by the Raiders. He started seven games for the Raiders down the stretch and looks like he could be a solid foundational piece on this defensive line considering he has three years left on his rookie deal.

Butler set out this season to show he could be an every-down player and he did that. He stepped up with the loss of Christian Wilkins and was the Raiders’ best interior defender, finishing with five sacks and career-bests in tacckles (65), tackles for loss (8) and QB hits (10).

Jakorian Bennett was the midseason winner of this award, but he went down with injury and missed the latter half of the season. He too is probably worthy, but Butler held up all season long and is thus deserving of the award in the end.

Being that Chaisson had never had NFL success before this season, one could argue he’s not “coming back” from anything. But being that there aren’t any other candidates for this award, we’re going to stretch that a bit. He was a former first round pick, so at one time he was highly regarded. He just never lived up to it with the Jaguars. The former LSU star edge rusher had as many sacks this season (five) as he did his first four seasons combined.

Gardner Minshew is a close runner-up here. But after seeing the improved numbers across the board under Luke Getsy’s replacement Scott Turner, it was clear Getsy was a big part of the problem. Not a big surprise, honestly. He was coming off a terrible season with the Bears and wasn’t the Raiders first choice for the job. And somehow he was still a great disappointment.

They lost their top player Christian Wilkins five games into the season. And yet somehow still managed to step up and carry the load. The combo of Adam Butler, John Jenkins, and Jonah Laulu gave the Raiders some solid work both in run defense and pass rush. With some good late season flashes from Zach Carter as well. Should they bring back Butler, teaming him up with Wilkins and Laulu could give the Raiders a very formidable front.

You could also go with “Only good game” as the title of this award. That win in Baltimore looks more and more like a fluke the farther down the line we get from it. Their other wins were against two of the worst teams in the NFL (Jaguars and Browns), one who had Deshaun Watson starting and the other two with backup QBs (Jaguars and Saints).

Somewhat interesting their worst game came the week after their best one. Though there were many contenders for the worst game. But looking back, the one that stands out is the one that started the collapse.

It was their home opening loss to the Panthers in which they never led and Andy Dalton led offense to put up 33 points in the first 47 minutes. After the game, Antonio Pierce had his infamous reactionary press conference in which he called out unnamed players for making “business decisions.”

Shortly thereafter, Davante Adams came down with a sudden and mysterious ankle injury. Then demanded a trade and eventually was sent to the Jets. That’s also when Michael Mayer left the team and didn’t return for more than a month. The team was in shambles the rest of the way.

They would “win” the next game against the Browns, but anyone who watched it saw Deshaun Watson hand that game to the Raiders on a silver platter. Then they went on a ten-game losing streak.

Some of the lowlights from that streak include the Rams game where the Raiders turned the ball over four times, the first Chiefs game where the running backs averaged less than a yard per carry, the Steelers game where Pittsburgh rattled off 26 unanswered, the Broncos who had a 100-yard pick six and put up 34 unanswered, and the Bengals game when the Raiders gave up scores on the first five drives — four of which went for touchdowns — and allowed a season-high 41 points.

And that was just the first five games of their ten-game losing streak. They failed to reach even 20 points in any of the five games after the bye week while turning the ball over nine times.

He finished third in the league in gross punt average (50.8) and garnered a few All Pro votes.

Yes, the best rookie has also been their best offensive player and their lone First Team All Pro. Jakobi Meyers had his best season, but he wasn’t nearly on the level of Bowers who the Raiders offense ran through.

He won AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in the team’s come-from-behind win in Baltimore in Week two. He battled ankle injury for several weeks, then injured the same ankle later in the season, sending Crosby to injured reserve. He was still named to the Pro Bowl and no other Raiders defender is approaching his talents.

Raiders 2025 free agents includes most of team’s defensive starters

The Raiders have some work to do between now and March if they hope to not see their defense gutted in free agency.

Last offseason, the talk was about how many of their defensive starters were coming back because they were still under contract. Well, those chickens have come home to roost, and now they are facing an offseason in which the vast majority of their defensive starters’ contracts are coming up in March.

In total, there are nine Raiders players headed for free agency who were either starters headed into last season or ended up starting the majority of the games this season:

DT Adam Butler (16 starts)
DT John Jenkins (17 starts)
DE Malcolm Koonce (Projected starter, IR)
DE K’Lavon Chaisson (4 starts)
LB Robert Spillane (17 starts)
LB Divine Deablo (14 starts)
CB Nate Hobbs (7 starts)
CB Darnay Holmes (1 start)
S Tre’von Moehrig (17 starts)
S Marcus Epps (3 starts, IR)
S Isaiah Pola-Mao (RFA, 14 starts)

There are far fewer on the offensive side of the ball:

RB Alexander Mattison
RB Ameer Abdullah
WR Terrace Marshall
TE Harrison Bryant
T Andrus Peat
G Cody Whitehair

The Raiders are projected to have the second most cap space in the league this offseason behind only the Patriots. And they will need to use a good portion of that to make sure their defense doesn’t get gutted in free agency.

Former 1st round find has been living up to draft status for Raiders

The Raiders dusted off former top pick K’Lavon Chaisson and he’s turning in performances that have him finally living up to his draft status

You never know how or why something clicks for a player when it didn’t before. Some players just don’t work out for whatever reason with one team. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they are a bust. It could mean they needed a wake up call or just to be put in a better situation on another team.

That was apparently the situation with K’Lavon Chaisson.

The LSU star was selected at 20th overall in the 2020 draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars. After three seasons with just three combined sacks, they didn’t exercise their fifth round option on him and let him leave after his four-year rookie deal was up.

Chaisson signed on with the Panthers this past offseason, but was released just prior to the start of the season. A week later, he signed on with the Raiders.

After a month on the practice squad, Chaisson earned a contract and was signed to the active roster. And he hasn’t looked back. He’s proven himself to be a valuable part of this team and showing why he was once considered a top NFL prospect.

“Yeah, I think just really just the buy in,” Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce said of Chaisson’s progress.

“Just watching him go through the progression, really buying into our technique, what we’re asking him to do. And we’ve done a lot with him. I mean he’s dropped, he’s rushed, he’s peeled on the backs. I mean, he’s done a lot, interception, dropped one against [Jacksonville] that I know he wants back, but he’s been a pleasant surprise.

“Obviously, the physical traits are there, but just the mentality, really good in the locker room. Probably one of the better players that we didn’t talk about after the Saints game, that before the game, just the message that he was talking about was really good for our team.”

Chaisson is a great story. He has been on a tear lately, putting up four sacks over the last five games, including twice getting to Patrick Mahomes and getting one against his former team.

Overall,  Chaisson has five sacks in 14 appearances this season which matches his entire career total over 57 games with the Jaguars. He has career highs across the board including eight QB hits, 31 tackles, seven tackles for loss, one interception, two pass breakups, and one forced fumble.

Either he’s played himself into a new deal with the Raiders or a better deal elsewhere this offseason.

Raiders PFF grades: 5 highest rated Week 17 vs. Saints

The Raiders beat the Saints handily and won their second consecutive game. Who earned a high grade from Pro Football Focus?

Winning is suddenly the new normal in Las Vegas after two straight wins, most recently against the Saints on Sunday. Of course, that won’t offset all the losses the Raiders suffered before their modest resurgence.

However, Pro Football Focus hands out player grades for each game, win or lose. This week’s high score goes to rookie safety Thomas Harper. He played 47 percent of the snaps on defense for Las Vegas and recorded a late interception. He also had three tackles, half a QB sack, a pass defensed, and a QB hit. It added up to a blistering 93.2 grade.

Defensive end K’Lavon Chaisson joins his fellow defender on the list this week, ranking third with a robust 85.1 score. He had a demonstrative sack of Saints QB Spencer Rattler and also induced a holding penalty on a New Orleans offensive lineman.

Tight end Brock Bowers earned a 75.7 score, good for fifth on the team. He broke three records on Sunday thanks to his seven catches for 77 yards. Running back Ameer Abdullah had a career day of his own and is No. 3 on PFF’s list. The offensive line opened holes for Abdullah, and offensive lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson impressed the most, earning the No. 2 grade this week.

Looking at this list, it’s less of a surprise the Raiders are winning lately. Chaisson, Harper, and Abdullah all have something to prove — Harper was undrafted; Chaisson is a former No. 1 pick who was let go by his former team; and Abdullah is a 10-year veteran who just topped 100 yards in a game for the first time.

Add that factor to a talented mix of Raiders draft picks like Powers-Johnson and Bowers, and there’s plenty of motivation to make some late-season noise in Las Vegas. They’ll try to play spoiler against the Chargers in Los Angeles this Sunday to close the season.

Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 16 win vs Jaguars

Rounding up the individual performances after taking a detailed look at the tape from the Raiders week 16 win over the Jaugars.

It’s been a while since this piece was put together without the focus being more on the Busters than the Ballers because it was coming out of yet another loss. To be exact, it had been nearly three months!

As has been the case a lot this season, the defense carries the day for the Raiders. Only this time, it was enough to get the win.

Ballers

S Isaiah Pola-Mao, S Tre’von Moehrig

Moehrig’s pass breakup helped lead to the Jaguars’ second punt of the game. Then after the Raiders tied the game at 7-7 in the second quarter, he made the tackle on third down to force another punt.

The Raiders had two takeaways in the game. Both were Pola-Mao forced fumbles. The first came early in the second quarter and Moehrig was there to pounce on it for the recovery at the Jacksonville 45-yard line. They would get a field goal out of it to take a 13-7 lead.

The second turnover came late in the second quarter and it stopped what would have been a scoring drive by the Jaguars, sending the two teams to the locker room with the Raiders maintaining their six-point lead.

On the final Jaguars drive, Moehrig came flying in on the blitz to force Mac Jones to throw the ball into the turf to avoid the sack. Then on fourth down, Moehrig made the tackle short of the sticks to give the Raiders the win.

DE Charles Snowden. DE K’Lavon Chaisson

A week ago Snowden was inactive because of his DUI arrest. He returned to his regularly scheduled breakout season on Sunday, wreaking havoc on Mac Jones and the Jaguars offense.

Snowden made the stop on a catch in the right flat on third down to force the first punt of the game.

Two drives later, Chaisson made an almost identical play to the one he made last week against the Falcons, when he perfectly played a screen pass. That time, he batted the pass to himself for the interception. This time, he looked to have the interception outright, but couldn’t quite hang onto it. Still a well-played ball by Chaisson.

In the second quarter, Chaisson got pressure on the edge on third down, forcing Mac Jones to step up and throw where Snowden was there to bat the pass down at the line.

The first drive of the third quarter was stopped when on consecutive plays, Chaisson set up a tackle for loss and then made the sack for an 11-yard loss.

Snowden led out the first Jaguars’ possession of the fourth quarter with a tackle for loss that led to a three-and-out. Then on fourth-and-one with the game in the balance, he drew a holding penalty to make it fourth-and-11 instead. They couldn’t make it up and turned it over on downs.

RB Ameer Abdullah

Abdullah made the play of the game. Early in the fourth quarter, with the Jaguars having just taken a 14-13 lead, Aidan O’Connell was under pressure, and threw up a prayer ball Abdullah’s way and he came back to make the catch for the first down at the Jacksonville 35.

The next play, Abdullah made an 11-yard catch to put them in easy scoring range. Two play later, he took the ball up the gut from seven yards out for the touchdown to give the Raiders the lead. That 19-14 lead would hold the rest of the way.

He also had three runs for 24 yards to put the Raiders in field goal range for a 13-7 lead just before the half.

TE Brock Bowers

He made the first catch of the day for the Raiders. He was open on the right side and shot up the sideline for 32 yards. As it happens, he was exactly 32 yards from 1000 on the season and that play landed him right on the milestone.

On the game-winning drive, Bowers had three catches for 29 yards, including the 17-yard catch that put them in first and goal. His final two catches helped the Raiders eat up clock to preserve the win and give him 11 catches for 99 yards in the game.

DT Adam Butler, DT John Jenkins

The first tackle of the day was a run stop for no gain and it was set up because Butler shot through the gap to force the run elsewhere. Jenkins helped to end the drive with a punt with a run stuff on first down followed by a batted ball at the line.

Jenkins led out the second Jaguars possession with another run stuff. And he added another on the next drive.

Butler drew a holding penalty in the second quarter that led to a three-and-out. Then he drew another holding penalty in the third quarter that also stopped a drive. On the play prior to that second drawn holding, Jenkins got pressure up the middle to force and incompletion.

Butler is a perfect example of why the game is played outside the stats. He had no stats in the game. But affected the game greatly just the same.

RT DJ Glaze

Didn’t give up any QB hits, sacks, or run stops in the game. That’s just flat out doing his job.

Honorable Mention

QB Aidan O’Connell — The offense wasn’t great. But he led them on two TD drives and made some gritty plays along the way.

Continue to the Busters…

‘It’s personal’ for Raiders resurgent former 1st round pick facing team that drafted, gave up on him

Less than a year after the Jaguars gave up on EDGE K’Lavon Chaisson, the Raiders resurgent former first round pick gets his shot at revenge.

Being a first round pick sounds great. But it doesn’t mean a whole lot. Whether they live up to that status is still a crap shoot. One the Jaguars felt like they lost with K’Lavon Chaisson after just five sacks in four years. So, they let him go.

The LSU star then signed with the Carolina Panthers only to once again find himself without a team just prior to the start of the season. That’s when the Raiders, who had just lost their breakout star Malcolm Koonce to injury, scooped him up onto their practice squad.

From there Chaisson earned his shot on the active roster, signed a month after initially signing. Since then he has more than earned his right to stick.

Two weeks ago, against the rival Chiefs in Kansas City, Chaisson put up career highs in sacks (1.5) and tackles for loss (three). Then last week stepping up after the loss of Maxx Crosby to injury, he played a career high 57 snaps, missing just one snap.

On the heels of that, Chaisson this week will line up across from the same Jaguars team that made him their top pick out of LSU and who gave up on him after last season.

“Obviously it’s personal for him. It’s the team that drafted him and let him go,” Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce said of Chaisson. “But I’m just talking about KC the player for us. I think he’s done an outstanding job since he’s gotten here. Bought into it. Rob Leonard and Andre [Carter] have done a good job of just fitting him in and over the last month he’s been kind of wreaking havoc. The passing game he had the interception and obviously getting after the quarterback, but in the running game with all the injuries he’s been a bright spot for us. Someone who has tier one traits of a first round pick. But I think he’s found his home here and we’re happy to have him on our side.”

The Jaguars come to Allegiant Stadium Sunday and Chaisson will be waiting, hoping to show his former team he is living up to the talent they thought they would get when they drafted with the 20th overall pick back in 2020.

Whether that’s because Chaisson had a wakeup call and turned his career around, or he just needed to be in the right situation with the right team to find his talent again.

“I think that also putting your arm around him. Loving him,” Pierce said of how Chaisson has surged since joining the Raiders. “And also the culture and the way that locker room and Dline group… that’s a very tight knit group. Even with Maxx [Crosby] and Christian [Wilkins] out, those guys are always in there and doing things together constantly. He’s just kind of fit in.

“I think initially he was trying to find his way and then once he found his way, we’re reaping the benefits of his play right now. He is happy, he’s kind of finding himself. He’s like ‘I want to be a Raider’ and that’s good. That’s things that you want to have happen when you bring guys in who didn’t work out. Because a lot of first rounders when it doesn’t work out they kind of just go to the wayside, and feel sorry for themselves. He’s taken advantage of every opportunity.”

Chaisson should get plenty of opportunities to get after his former team Sunday. He will likely start at defensive end across from another former first round pick in Tyree Wilson.

Raiders Week 15 snap counts vs Falcons: Who took Maxx Crosby’s snaps?

With Maxx Crosby lost for the season, the Raiders gave the bulk of the snaps to K’Lavon Chaisson and Tyree Wilson.

Monday Night the Raiders were without their best player. Maxx Crosby was lost for the season after aggravating a high ankle sprain he had initially injured earlier in the season.

With Crosby out, and Charles Snowden inactive following his DUI arrest last week, the Raiders had to decide who got the bulk of the snaps at defensive end.

Turns out it was two former first round picks who got the bulk of the snaps at defensive end. Tyree Wilson got the start, but it was K’Lavon Chaisson who led the way among defensive linemen, playing all but one snap.

Chaisson had five tackles, one for a loss. While Wilson had four tackles, two for a loss, a sack, and a QB hit.

Offense Spec Tms
Player Pos Num Pct Num Pct
Kolton Miller T 67 100% 2 8%
Delmar Glaze T 67 100% 2 8%
Dylan Parham G 67 100% 2 8%
Desmond Ridder QB 67 100% 0 0%
Jackson Powers-Johnson C 67 100% 0 0%
Tre Tucker WR 64 96% 0 0%
Jordan Meredith G 63 94% 2 8%
Brock Bowers TE 63 94% 0 0%
Jakobi Meyers WR 60 90% 0 0%
Michael Mayer TE 47 70% 2 8%
Ameer Abdullah RB 31 46% 13 52%
Terrace Marshall Jr. WR 26 39% 0 0%
Alexander Mattison RB 22 33% 0 0%
Sincere McCormick RB 14 21% 0 0%
Harrison Bryant TE 7 10% 9 36%
Cody Whitehair G 4 6% 0 0%
Ramel Keyton WR 1 1% 5 20%
Defense Spec Tms
Player Pos Num Pct Num Pct
Decamerion Richardson CB 58 100% 6 24%
Isaiah Pola-Mao FS 58 100% 4 16%
Jack Jones CB 58 100% 1 4%
Tre’von Moehrig FS 58 100% 0 0%
K’Lavon Chaisson DE 57 98% 0 0%
Robert Spillane LB 57 98% 0 0%
Jonah Laulu DT 53 91% 5 20%
Tyree Wilson DE 42 72% 4 16%
John Jenkins DT 40 69% 6 24%
Adam Butler DT 40 69% 0 0%
Divine Deablo LB 38 66% 5 20%
Nate Hobbs CB 32 55% 0 0%
Zachary Carter DT 21 36% 1 4%
Amari Burney LB 13 22% 23 92%
Thomas Harper FS 7 12% 17 68%
Janarius Robinson DE 6 10% 6 24%
Special Teams Spec Tms
Player Pos Num Pct Num Pct
Kana’i Mauga LB 0 0% 23 92%
Tommy Eichenberg LB 0 0% 23 92%
Amari Gainer LB 0 0% 23 92%
Christopher Smith SS 0 0% 17 68%
Trey Taylor SS 0 0% 16 64%
Dylan Laube RB 0 0% 12 48%
Darnay Holmes CB 0 0% 10 40%
Justin Shorter TE 0 0% 8 32%
Jacob Bobenmoyer LS 0 0% 7 28%
AJ Cole III P 0 0% 7 28%
Daniel Carlson K 0 0% 6 24%
Matthew Butler DT 0 0% 3 12%
Thayer Munford T 0 0% 2 8%
Andre James C 0 0% 2 8

 

Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 14 loss to Buccaneers

Going over the individual performances for the Raiders in their week 14 games against the Buccaneers.

The Raiders game in Tampa was like a pendulum. The problem was it swung hard the Buccaneers’ way in the first quarter, only slightly the Raiders direction for two quarters, and then hard the Bucs was again for the fourth quarter.

Ballers

S Tre’von Moehrig

After running through the Raiders defense for touchdowns on each of their first two drives, Moehrig started things out for the defense and made big plays on five of their six straight stops in the second and third quarters.

He teamed up for a tackle for loss on the first stop, had a pass breakup and recovered a forced fumble in the next one, had a pass breakup on the third, He added a shared sack on third down in the third quarter and led out the fourth quarter with coverage on third down to force another punt.

He added a run stuff for minimal gain on the final drive of the game to finish with a team-leading eight tackles, a half sack, three pass breakups, and a fumble recovery.

DE K’Lavon Chaisson

Chaisson teamed up with Moehrig on that tackle for loss to start the defense’s run. Then he ended that drive when he stopped his rush to get in the passing lane on a screen, batted the pass to himself for the interception.

In the third quarter he teamed up with Moehrig on a sack and added two more tackles.

RB Sincere McCormick

He continues to show himself to be the Raiders’ best kept secret this season. His 29-yard run was a thing of beauty. He broke two tackles along the way, including a wicked spin move to put the Raiders in position for their second score.

To begin the third quarter, the Raiders were able to go on a 16-play drive that took over ten minutes, largely on his back. He had three first downs, including on third and one and fourth and one. Unfortunately it ended with an interception.

He finished with 78 yards on 15 carries (5.2 yards per carry).

DI Adam Butler

His sack on a drive in the second quarter helped put the Bucs in third and 23 which led to great field position on the Raiders ensuing possession. And he started out the next drive with a run stuff. And his pressure in the fourth quarter led to a bad throw on third down to give the Raiders one last shot to get back in the game.

They couldn’t take advantage, but he still crashed the backfield to start the next drive leading to a run stuff. He finished with four tackles, a sack, and two QB hits.

TE Michael Mayer

Mayer led the Raiders seven catches for 68 yards. It was a career high for catches for Mayer and his second most yards in a game.

His 19-yard catch put the Raiders in first and goal on their first touchdown drive. On the long drive in the third quarter, he laid the key block to convert on fourth and one and on the next play caught a seven-yard pass to put the Raiders at the ten.

Continue to the Busters…

Raiders PFF grades: 5 highest rated Week 14 vs. Buccaneers

The Raiders lost again, their ninth straight defeat. But who actually performed well against the Buccaneers on Sunday?

The Raiders battled in Tampa Bay on Sunday after falling behind the Buccaneers early, and for a while, it seemed like they’d actually win a game.

But the Las Vegas offense couldn’t score enough points and the defense ran out of steam, allowing the Bucs to register a couple of fourth-quarter touchdowns. It was the Raiders’ ninth straight defeat.

Some players put good performances on tape, however. Safety Tre’von Moehrig is the highest-graded Raider this week according to Pro Football Focus, earning an impressive 90.6 score. He’s followed on the list by another defender, defensive end K’Lavon Chaisson.

Moehrig led his team in tackles and recovered a fumble, and Chaisson had an incredible interception after tipping the football at the line of scrimmage. Each player registered half of a QB sack and Moehrig had three pass breakups.

They’re followed on the list by three young players on offense: running back Sincere McCormick, tight end Brock Bowers, and center Jackson Powers-Johnson. McCormick started in the backfield and responded with 78 yards on 15 carries. He’ll get more opportunities to adjust to the NFL as the season winds down.

Bowers had a quiet day as a receiver with just three catches, though he had a long reception of 25 yards. He’s still in the running for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. Powers-Johnson has displayed a lot of skill at center since he took over for offensive lineman Andre James, but the rookie needs to reduce his penalties and miscues as part of the maturity process.

After nine straight weeks of PFF grades following a Raiders loss, when will we see how the team grades after a win? That’s uncertain, but Las Vegas will try for victory again on Monday night against the Falcons in Las Vegas.