The Raiders came into the 2022-2023 season with high expectations under first-year head coach Josh McDaniels. Las Vegas signed the ultimate receiving weapon in Davante Adams, and had a quarterback in Derek Carr who showed that he could be an elite talent. Despite that, the 2022 season did not pan out how the Raiders would have liked it to. However, a new season is coming, and the Las Vegas Raiders might have fashioned an offense that could lead them to the playoffs in 2023.
Jimmy Garappolo signing
Carr had a disappointing season with the Raiders in 2022. He completed just 60 percent of his passes, down from 68 percent in 2021. He threw for 3,522 yards and 24 touchdowns. However, Carr threw 14 interceptions. It’s safe to say Carr did not turn out to be the quarterback of the future like Vegas thought. Now, the Carr era is over, as he is now with the New Orleans Saints. Vegas has a new quarterback, and his name is Jimmy Garoppolo.
“Jimmy G” played 11 games for the 49ers in 2022, but suffered a season-ending foot injury, ultimately leading to Brock Purdy being the starter for that team. Garoppolo was productive before that injury, though. He threw for over 2,400 yards, 16 touchdowns and four interceptions. Grabbing Garappolo was an excellent pick-up for the Raiders. He is a veteran presence and can be very accurate with the football. He completed 67 percent of his passes last year with San Francisco. Not to mention, he has shown that he can perform in the playoffs. It was not long ago; he took San Francisco to the NFC Championship game.
Other Weapons On Offense
Garoppolo has, arguably, more weapons with this Raiders team than he did the 49ers. Adams had one of the better years of his career in 2022. He had 1,516 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns. He almost certainly would have had more if the Raiders featured better quarterback play.
If Adams was not enough, Vegas also has ex-Patriot Jakobi Meyers, who signed with the team in mid-March. He had over 800 receiving yards in 2022 with the Patriots. As for the tight end position, the Raiders have Austin Hooper, who had over 400 receiving yards and two touchdowns in 2022. Furthermore, Vegas drafted Michael Mayer, who is a stud from Notre Dame. He had over 800 yards and nine touchdowns last season for the Fighting Irish.
As for the rushing attack, the Raiders have the rushing leader Josh Jacobs, a bruising running back with speed and power. He had over 1,600 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns in last season.
Conclusion
The Las Vegas Raiders have all the puzzle pieces on offense to make a run at the playoffs in 2023. The main factor, though, is if Garoppolo’s health throughout the season, as he has struggled with injuries for most of his career. Obviously, the defense was not mentioned in this article, but they will need to do the offense some favors throughout the season to make it happen.
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