Despite all of the fantastic additions the Raiders made this offseason, not everyone is buying into the hype. In fact, some believe the Raiders could be worse in 2020 than they were in 2019.
In a recent piece done by Barry Werner at the Touchdown Wire, he predicted that the Raiders will compete for the No. 1 selection in 2020, rather than battle for a playoff spot. Take a look at his thoughts on the Raiders’ upcoming season:
In Jon Gruden’s first season in his return, the Raiders actually won two less games than they did in 2017. That’s what happens when you trade Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper. There is zero reason to believe the team is going to make an upward turn. In fact, the Silver and Black are more likely to battle for the No. 1 overall pick than anything else.
It’s hard to agree that there aren’t reasons to be excited about this Raiders’ team moving forward. They acquired arguably the best receiver in football in Antonio Brown, made significant improvements to their offensive line and could be fielding as many as seven new starters on defense.
While it’s certainly possible that the Raiders could struggle in 2019, don’t expect them to be a worse team than they were last year. They are just too talented to win only four games. Instead, look for Oakland to compete for a wildcard spot as soon as this season.
