Under Kubiak, Raiders' Predictability Is Out the Window in 2026

The Las Vegas Raiders have had their fair share of issues over the past few seasons. Many of those issues were addressed with their offseason coaching staff and roster additions. Those respective additions will help Las Vegas in several ways in 2026 and beyond.

Predictable Raiders

To some degree, all teams are somewhat predictable, especially as they play more games together. That is why teams watch film: to learn their opponents' tendencies and predict their moves on the field. Las Vegas' predictability over the past few seasons is not unique to them.

However, Las Vegas's predictability on both sides of the ball is unique to them. In 2025, the Raiders were arguably the most predictable team in the National Football League. Subpar talent and coaching unquestionably factored into the Raiders' undeniable predictability.

The moves the Raiders' front office made this offseason have made them a better team on paper. They have spent the past few weeks in Organized Team Activities and will soon begin mandatory minicamp. So far, the moves Las Vegas has made this offseason have continued to address needs.

Several changes have been made across the board for the Raiders, and their impacts are already on display. Although much of the Raiders' future plans remain to be seen, it is clear that one thing will be significantly different for the Raiders this season and beyond.

This upcoming season, the Raiders will feature their fourth head coach in as many seasons. They will also debut a new defensive coordinator for the first time in many years. Las Vegas will also run a new scheme on both offense and defense. In the immediate future, this should give the Raiders an advantage.

That advantage will be the exact opposite of one of their most significant disadvantages in recent seasons. For the first time in a long time, the Raiders will enter the season and play much of the regular season against opponents with little information about what to expect from them.

“I mean, it's cool because it kind of keeps offense guessing a little bit. When we have guys who can play in different spots and rotate different ways, it doesn't necessarily give the offense a heads up of what we're doing and why certain guys are in certain spots because we can spin anybody down and spin anybody back,” veteran safety Jeremy Chinn said following OTAs.

“It's been good, it's been impressive just to see those guys, one, being willing to be like, 'Alright, yeah, I'll play that. I'll be here; you want me to be here.' So, just a willingness to take on different roles and be in different spots on the field."

Raiders Finally Have the Personnel To Make Adjustments

Every team aims to be less predictable. However, teams need the personnel to mix things up on both sides of the ball. Las Vegas has not had the personnel to do that, or much of anything else, consistently well. That has changed after an offseason in which the Raiders revamped their roster.

Under Kubiak and his coaching staff, and with the talent added to the roster in free agency and the NFL Draft, Las Vegas finally has the talent and coaching to become significantly less predictable. This may not seem like a big deal, but with all of the new faces Las Vegas has, it is.

The Raiders are sure to go through growing pains in their first season under Kubiak, with one of the most difficult schedules in the league. It is inevitable that the Raiders will face a few tough stretches this season. Most teams do at some point during the 17-game season.

Yet all those new faces, and the fact that few teams in the league know what to expect from the Raiders, especially early in the season, should bode well for the Raiders. Furthermore, predictable or not, Las Vegas starts the season with four winnable games. Less predictability will only help them.

The Raiders open the season with matchups against the Miami Dolphins, Los Angeles Chargers, New Orleans Saints, and the Kansas City Chiefs, who will likely be without Patrick Mahomes. Nearly all of those teams are much more set in their ways than the Raiders, which benefits Las Vegas.

Assuming the Raiders run a vanilla set of plays in the preseason, which they almost certainly will, the Raiders will enter the regular season facing multiple beatable opponents who have little idea of what to expect from Las Vegas.

That is not all; not only will those teams not know what to expect, but Las Vegas now has the personnel to make legitimate adjustments during the game. This goes hand in hand with their predictability over the past few seasons.

The Raiders simply have not had enough talent to make necessary in-game adjustments. Now they do.

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