With all 32 teams officially reporting to training camp on Tuesday, the NFL is officially back. Preseason football is just around the corner and the Raiders will put on the pads for the first time on Wednesday.
There is a lot of excitement building in Las Vegas, but are the Raiders going to be one of the seven teams to make the playoffs again this year? And what type of record should we expect from them this season?
In a recent article by Nate Davis of USA Today, he predicted every team’s record going into the 2022 season. He predicted the Raiders would finish the season at 9-8, narrowly missing the playoffs. Here is a snippet of what Davis had to say about the new-look Raiders going into the year:
“QB Derek Carr and new WR Davante Adams reunite with latent rapport from their time together at Fresno State – but what’s the half life of chemistry when you haven’t played together in nearly a decade? So while this organization appears headed in the right direction – even as defensive and blocking issues linger – maybe let’s give it a year to coalesce?
The entire post by Davis is available on USA Today, but it is available to subscribers only. But he has the Raiders finishing behind teams like the Chargers, Patriots and Bengals in the AFC Wild Card race.
Considering how strong the entire AFC is this year, it wouldn’t be all that surprising to see the Raiders be a better team on the field but have a worse win-loss record. Their division is going to be one of the best in NFL history as all four quarterbacks in the division have made the Pro Bowl in recent years.
The Raiders are going to be competitive during the 2022 season. That much is for sure. But can they make it back to the playoffs in the first season under Josh McDaniels? That is going to be a tall task.