There’s still work to be done for the Las Vegas Raiders before pads get thrown on. In the meantime, veteran Adam Butler can’t help but be impressed by Geno Smith, Jonah Laulu, and Sin City’s rookie class, among others.
Adam Butler gained two position-mates by way of the 2025 NFL Draft–both who have caught his attention in a big way.
“I think they work hard,” Butler said of rookies Tonka Hemmingway and J.J. Pegues.
“Some guys come in, and you can really tell if it matters to them or not. It really matters to these guys.. kind of too much sometimes.
“That’s how you know that they really care though and they’re intentional about their work. I’m pleased with them and the way that they’ve come to work.”
The rookies weren’t the only fellow defensive tackle to earn praise from Butler during the team’s press conference on Wednesday. Jonah Laulu, a rookie claimed by the Raiders last year after being waived by Indianapolis, has too caught the eye of Butler this offseason.
“[Laulu]’s done a great job in this offseason program of establishing [confidence]. Just showing that he is confident in his play, and just me looking at from the time that he came into the building to now, I would definitely say he holds his head up higher than he did as a rookie.
“I don’t sense any nervousness; I sense someone that’s confident that they can play.”
It isn’t only defensive tackles who Butler has taken note of this offseason. For that matter, it isn’t only defensive players in general.
Perhaps no Raiders player has stolen Butler’s attention quite like quarterback Geno Smith has.
Adam Butler turns attention to Geno Smith after praising Jonah Laulu, Raiders rookies
Of all the moves first-year Raiders general manager John Spytek made this offseason, none was bigger than the acquisition of multi-time Pro Bowl signal caller Geno Smith.
Butler is seeing that first-hand.
“Oo, impressive, man, impressive,” Butler emphatically replied to a question surrounding his thoughts on Smith thus far.
“The guy really is about his craft. I mean, every day he’s got some amazing pass where I’m like, ‘Sh-t,’ it’s crazy. And I’m just excited to see him do it in a game.”
Since becoming a full-time starter in 2022, Smith has been a strong contender for best deep-ball passer across the National Football League. Sounds unbelievable, right?
Get ready to believe.
His first year back as a starter under center, Smith completed 47.6% of his 20-plus yard pass attempts. That was the second-highest mark among all quarterbacks when going deep in 2022. Better than that, his 41.3% big time throw percentage – throws with excellent ball placement and timing – ranked first among all signal callers when throwing downfield.
In 2023, Smith’s big time throw percentage of 38.2% once again ranked first league-wide when launching the ball 20-plus yards downfield.
Those were the years Smith spent with current Raiders head coach Pete Carroll in Seattle. This past year, the now-34-year-old quarterback was forced to navigate without the guidance of Carroll.
And navigate is exactly what he did.
With a 46.3% completion percentage when going deep, only two signal callers bested Smith in this area last season. Now-former Seahawks receiver D.K. Metcalf ended his season as perhaps the best statistical downfield pass-catcher across the NFL, too.
On passes 20-plus yards downfield, Metcalf ranked first in catches (16), fourth in yardage (486) and second in touchdowns (5) among all pass-catchers league-wide.
That’s what Geno Smith offers when launching the football. Pete Carroll knows that better than anybody, which stands as a major reason why Smith is under center in Sin City to begin with.
And now, Adam Butler has come to be familiar with Smith’s passing prowess as well.
*Top Photo: Ryan Sun/AP Photo
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