2015 Season Predictions: AFC West Preview

May 19, 2015; Alameda, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders receiver

(15) at organized team activities at the Raiders practice facility. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Oakland Raiders: 

Key Arrivals: QB Christian Ponder, RB Trent Richardson, RB Roy Helu, WR Michael Crabtree, C Rodney Hudson, NT Dan Williams, ILB Curtis Lofton, OLB Malcolm Smith, SS Nate Allen, WR Amari Cooper

Adding Ponder will give the Raiders a decent backup to Derek Carr. Adding Richardson and Helu gives them a lot of depth at running back and if Richardson is actually showing some quickness in camp, he might finally show some flashes of the potential that the Browns hoped to see in him during the regular season.

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Crabtree has a lot of potential skill, but he has been hampered y injuries in recent years and simply hasn’t looked that good. Hudson is a good center, but the Raiders overpaid for him, but if he can help the offensive line, he might be somewhat worth it. Cooper is going to be a great wide receiver and gives Carr and true No.1 target. I expect a lot from his this year.

On defense this team needed a lot of help as well. Dan Williams is a very solid nose tackle and he figures to help the run defense right away. They also added Lofton and he is a very solid linebacker and he should be able to help the Raiders linebackers and provide some leadership on defense. Smith, the former Super Bowl MVP, will finally get a chance to start and show that he is more than just a one game star in the Super Bowl. Nate Allen is a decent safety who might help the secondary a bit, but the secondary is still quite bad and Nate Allen isn’t good enough to make that big of a difference.

Key Losses: RB Darren McFadden, WR Denarius Moore, C Stefan Wisniewski, DT Pat Sims, DT Antonio Smith, LaMarr Woodley, SS Tyvon Branch 

Losing McFadden shouldn’t really hurt the Raiders at all as he was absolutely terrible for them over the past few years. Moore also never really turned out for the Raiders and won’t be missed much, especially not with the good additions they made at the WR position. At center, the Raiders also upgraded as Hudson is better than Wisniewski, but also far more expensive. Sims has been a solid DT for the Raiders, but here again they clearly upgraded with Williams. Smith and Woodley both used to be very good, but it seems that those years are behind him. Branch wasn’t really much of a factor for the Raiders the last two years, so his departure won’t hurt much either.

Jun 9, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) throws a pass as quarterback

(9) watches at minicamp at the Raiders practice facility. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Verdict: 

The Raiders were very bad last year, but Carr’s play was definitely a step in the right direction. Their running game also showed some potential with Murray and the two new additions should make a positive difference as well. With Cooper and Crabtree the Raiders added two very talented wide receivers giving Carr some actually capable targets.

If TE Rivera can continue to play like he did towards the end of the season last year he will also be a capable target for Carr. The line should also be better which should help both the running and the passing game. The offense should be a lot better this year, especially if Carr can show the improvement expected of him.

On defense, their line should also show some solid improvement through the addition of Dan Williams and also second round draft pick Mario Edwards Jr. Their linebacker core suddenly doesn’t look that bad either with Mack and the additions of Lofton and Smith. The secondary is the part that still looks very troublesome as I don’t think D.J. Hayden is good enough to be a No.1 Corner and the rest of their CB’s are not good either. Woodson is also getting to old to be a good safety and Nate Allen is a decent strong safety, so the secondary just isn’t very good. Still this team should be better than it was last year.

Dec 28, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Oakland Raiders outside linebacker

(52) prior to the game against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The Broncos defeated the Raiders 47-14. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Prediction: 

Best Case Record: 4-12

Worst Case Record: 0-16

Prediction: 1-15

Team’s Offensive MVP: QB Derek Carr

Team’s Defensive MVP: OLB Khalil Mack

Rookie Standout: WR Amari Cooper

I think the Raiders are going to have another brutal season. Carr and Cooper will be a bright spot for their season as they will have a good connection and will bring hope for the future, but their schedule is tough and I simply don’t think they will have a chance in most of their games in their own division, against the AFC North or the NFC North. The best case scenario is that they are the best of the bad teams and beat every poor team they have on their schedule but that will be hard enough to do. Worst case scenario is that they fail to beat even Tennessee or Cleveland and go 0-16 guaranteeing them the No.1 pick.

Next: Who will fall into a dissapointing third?