How Circumstances Forced Raiders To Lean Even More Into Plans

The Las Vegas Raiders entered the offseason with a well-coordinated plan to address their coaching staff and roster issues. After three games, it is fair to say many of those moves appear to have been correct, and that, at the very least, Las Vegas is headed in the right direction.

Still, they have had a few hurdles to overcome en route to their undefeated start. They'll face more challenges this Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs. Both teams are undefeated heading into Week 4, but Las Vegas enters the game down a player at a position group that was already shaky.

Man Down

Raiders wide receiver Jack Bech was injured during the team's Week 3 win over the New Orleans Saints. Bech, along with the rest of Las Vegas' receivers, added another stress point for opposing defenses trying to cover a host of unassuming Raiders pass-catchers.

Raiders offensive coordinator Andrew Janocko explained how the team plans to handle Bech's absence. Las Vegas' coaching staff spent the offseason developing the depth chart as thoroughly as possible. Their offseason preparation is already being tested in the first month of the season.

Raiders' Approach

"I think anytime you lose a guy, you have to have that next man up mentality, and I know that's a cliche that gets thrown around all the time. But, if we're really about being a 70-man roster, then that's something that we have to pride ourselves in, is that the next guy's ready to go, next guy's ready to step up. It's a great challenge for us as coaches getting the next guys ready to play and having them ready to play at all times. So then when their number's called upon, they can have success."

The Raiders will also compensate for the loss of Bech by using more of what they do have. In this case, that is one of the best tight end duos in the league. The first three games confirmed that Las Vegas' offense is versatile enough to find success with various personnel packages.

Sunday will likely feature several new offensive looks from Las Vegas, and at least a decent amount more of their two tight end sets. Doing so would take pressure off the Raiders' receiving corps, which is even more questionable following Bech's injury. Janocko emphasized the importance of versatility.

“Our skill players have to do a multitude of things. So, everything, whether he's in line, out, I don't really know if we put a name on anything, but we just ask guys to plug and play in different positions. Whether it's him, or whether it's other players in our offense. We see guys put in different spots, and really ultimately, we're just trying to make the guys successful in whatever they do,” Janocko said.

Las Vegas' coaching staff spent the offseason doing its best to not only revamp the roster but also develop the players beyond the starters. Both the Raiders' decision to approach the receiver position by committee and their foundational two-tight-end sets will be tested Sunday.

Luckily for Las Vegas, their answer to Bech's injury aligns with the moves already made. Since they had already approached the receiver position by committee, it will truly be a next-man-up mentality at that specific position on Sunday.

The Raiders will need Jalen Nailor, Tre Tucker, Malik Benson, and Cody White to at least be serviceable against the Chiefs. Bowers and Michael Mayer should make that much easier to do, as they should open things up for Las Vegas' wide receivers.

Additional Help

Las Vegas' plans to address their receivers by committee go deeper than just the receivers on the team, or even their ability to lean on Bowers and Mayer to help the position group. The Raiders also have the potential to get their ground game going, which would take pressure off receivers.

Also, finding ways to get Ashton Jeanty involved in the passing game again would help, too. Regardless of how many yards his catches go for, getting Jeanty at least five targets on Sunday and beyond would help ease pressure on the entire unit.

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