Good luck to new Las Vegas Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak. He’ll want it to show across the downtrodden franchise.
After serving to the Seattle Seahawks beat the New England Patriots, 29-13, in Tremendous Bowl LX on Sunday, the previous offensive coordinator confirmed he is heading to Vegas, the place he’ll have his work lower out for him. Final season, Vegas went 3-14 below head coach Pete Carroll, whom it fired in January.
With that in thoughts, listed here are 5 issues Kubiak should do to achieve Vegas:
Commerce DE Maxx Crosby
Fox Sports activities NFL insider Jay Glazer has said he believes the Raiders and Crosby are heading for a divorce this offseason. As an alternative of attempting to persuade the DE to return to Vegas subsequent season, Kubiak and firm ought to commerce him. Sending him elsewhere would give the Raiders extra picks within the NFL Draft, which they might use to rebuild their roster.
A bundle that includes Crosby can be just like the compensation the Dallas Cowboys acquired within the Micah Parsons commerce. Dallas acquired two first-round picks and defensive deal with Kenny Clark when it dealt the DE to the Green Bay Packers earlier than the beginning of the 2025 season.
Crosby underwent knee surgical procedure after the season, however that will not stop groups from providing a number of draft picks for the star pass-rusher. The DE earned his fifth Professional Bowl nod in 2025 after rating second within the league in tackles for loss (28) behind Cleveland Browns DE Myles Garrett (33).
Discover and develop a franchise QB
The Raiders signed QB Geno Smith to a two-year, $75M deal after buying him in a commerce with the Seahawks in March 2025. Nevertheless, he is clearly not the reply after throwing a league-leading 17 interceptions in 15 regular-season begins this previous season.
The Raiders are anticipated to pick Indiana Hoosiers QB Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 choose within the 2026 draft, a wise alternative. The Heisman-winning QB led the Hoosiers to their first nationwide championship and led the FBS in landing passes (41) in 2025.
“Mendoza is the reset the Raiders desperately want,” wrote The Ringer’s Todd McShay in his new mock draft revealed Monday. “He isn’t as bodily gifted as excessive draft picks similar to Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, and even Cam Ward. However it’s not like he is missing for bodily instruments. He is 6-foot-5 and 225 kilos, is cell and has a reside arm.”
Maximize RB Ashton Jeanty
Jeanty (choose No. 6 of the 2025 draft) averaged a subpar 3.7 yards per carry (975 yards in 17 video games) throughout his rookie season. The Raiders anticipated far more from the RB, who ran for the second-most yards (2,601 in 14 video games) in a season in FBS historical past throughout his ultimate season with the Boise State Broncos.
Fortunately for the Raiders, Kubiak is a RB guru. Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker III won Super Bowl LX MVP after operating for 135 yards on 27 carries in opposition to New England. Throughout the common season, he rushed for 1,027 yards, the second most in his four-year profession. That has Jeanty wanting to work with the coach.
“I believe it is an awesome rent, and I am tremendous excited,” Jeanty said of Kubiak in an interview with CBS Sports activities earlier than Tremendous Bowl LX.
Repair the O-line
Kubiak is an offensive wizard, however his scheme will likely be ineffective if he does not handle the O-line’s issues. The unit allowed essentially the most sacks (64) within the league final season.
The Raiders could not run block, both. Per Pro Football Reference, Vegas ranked final within the NFL in yards earlier than contact (601). YBC measures what number of yards a runner positive factors earlier than a defender touches him.
Concentrating on a high offensive deal with in free company can be smart for Vegas, maybe Braden Smith (Indianapolis Colts). Per Sports Info Solutions, the O-lineman blew simply 3.8 % of his 718 blocks in 2025, thought-about strong.
Lean on minority proprietor Tom Brady
It remains unclear how a lot affect former New England Patriots/Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Brady has on the Raiders. Regardless, Kubiak ought to choose his mind commonly.
The seven-time Tremendous Bowl champion has a wealth of soccer data. Extra importantly, he is already a fan of the brand new Raiders coach. Per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Brady and Kubiak instantly developed a rapport of their preliminary interview as a result of each are “all ball.”
