The Las Vegas Raiders looked surprisingly competent in Houston, yet still came up short. That result may work in their favor, as Las Vegas remains firmly in the race for the No. 1 pick. With that in mind, it is time to overreact.
The Raiders will win out (unfortunately)…
The Raiders may not have won this week, but they looked competitive against a strong Texans team and generated meaningful momentum. They now carry that into a two-game homestand to end the season, facing a New York Giants roster vying for the top pick and a collapsing Kansas City Chiefs team down to its third-string quarterback. If Las Vegas replicates Sunday’s performance, a four-win finish is realistic—and with it, a draft slot outside the top three. It also likely means another year of Pete Carroll and Geno Smith. Wonderful.
Driving much of that improvement is one Raiders rookie in particular.
Ashton Jeanty making a case for Rookie of the Year
To be clear, this is not an argument that Jeanty will—or even should—win Offensive Rookie of the Year. Cam Ward remains the likely choice because he plays quarterback, and Indianapolis Colts tight end Tyler Warren is probably the most deserving. Still, it would be difficult to hand the award to a tight end one year after Brock Bowers was snubbed. Within that landscape, the case for Jeanty is more compelling than it may seem.
You could argue that no running back in the league, rookie or veteran, has done more with less. He needs only 346 more combined rushing and receiving yards over the final two weeks to reach 1,500 total, and he has already hit 10 touchdowns. Those numbers may look modest in isolation, but they become far more meaningful when placed alongside his circumstances: he is operating behind the worst offensive line in the NFL and with Geno Smith at quarterback.
And speaking of the offensive line, there is one player in particular we have seen enough of.
The Raiders should let Dylan Parham walk…
Another week brought another costly penalty for Parham, whose holding calls have become a recurring problem. They would be more tolerable if his play matched the investment, but the Raiders guard has been below average all season. With his contract set to expire, the question is no longer whether Las Vegas can bring him back but whether it should. Based on his trajectory, the case for an extension is thin.
Parham’s decline is particularly notable because it predates Brennan Carroll’s arrival. Most linemen begin to settle into their prime by a third or fourth season; Parham has regressed through both. At this point, he likely costs more to retain than to replace. Rather than paying a market rate approaching $10 million per year, the Raiders could shift DJ Glaze to guard opposite Caleb Rogers—assuming JPJ starts at center—and add either a rookie or a lower-priced veteran to compete with Charles Grant at right tackle. It is a more economical path, and Glaze should be at least as reliable inside as Parham has been.
*Top Photo: Ramble Illustration/Getty Images