2 Raiders with Massive Opportunities Ahead of Them This Offseason

The Las Vegas Raiders have a number of intriguing aspects to consider for the rest of the season and the ensuing regular season.

OL Caleb Rogers

Las Vegas has addressed their most pressing need along the offensive line by signing Tyler Linderbaum at center. Jackson Powers-Johnson and Kolton Miller have solidify their respective positions. DJ Glaze has started all but three games the past two seasons.

The Raiders are reasonably set at four of their five positions along the offensive line. At the very least, they are just as good, if not better, at those four positions as they were last season. The only questions is at the guard position opposite of Powers-Johnson.

The Raiders drafted Johnson under the impression that he would become a contributor sooner rather than later. However, even as the Raiders' offensive line failed with veterans leading the way last season, Rogers struggled to make it onto the field for reasons inside and outside of his control.

After working through growing pains, Rogers earned more playing time at the end of the season, starting six games for the Raiders. This offseason, he has the chance to firmly establish himself as one of the team's starting guards.

CB Greedy Vance

Las Vegas has made sizeable additions to its most pressing needs on both sides of the ball. However, cornerback has been a glaring need for the Raiders for many seasons. Although they traded for veteran Taron Johnson and will likely draft at least one corner, they have not addressed the position.

The Raiders' need at corner is no secret. They have drafted a cornerback in the mid rounds of six of the past eight drafts, yet still have one of the worst collections of talent at the position. For them to have only addressed the position by adding Johnson makes it fair to assume they will draft one.

However, the other part of that plan will be for the Raiders to see what they have in players already on the roster who need more development and opportunities. Vance, a second-year cornerback, is one of those players. He is not a household name and still has plenty of room for growth.

Still, the Raiders' need at cornerback is too dire for Vance not to be given a legitimate chance to earn more playing time this offseason. Las Vegas knows what they are getting from Eric Stokes and can reasonably assume Darien Porter will continue to progress, but they will need more from the group.

The Raiders can add talent, but their need at cornerback is so great, there is no way for the group to improve as a whole solely by offseason additions. They will need some of the younger, lesser-known players on the roster to improve as well, and take advantage of a golden opportunity.

Playing time for most of the Raiders' cornerbacks is far from guaranteed, but Vance has a chance to grind his way to more playing time on Sundays.