Antonio Pierce and the Las Vegas Raiders are hoping to continue turning the proud franchise around during the 2024 NFL season. After years of being viewed as a joke, the Raiders showed signs of being a very competitive football team after they fired former head coach Josh McDaniels and replace him with Pierce last season.
Heading into the offseason, no one knew if team owner Mark Davis would retain Pierce or shoot for a bigger fish on the coaching market. Thankfully for the players, he decided that Pierce deserved the job.
While retaining Pierce seems like the right move on paper, there are a lot of expectations for the Raiders this season. They are expected to improve their win total and compete against good teams. It’s easy to say that they should do those things, but it’s far from a guarantee.
All of that being said, a former Las Vegas Raiders’ Pro Bowl knows one major key that the team must focus on in order to find success this season.
Marcel Reese, a former fan favorite and star for the Raiders, spoke out in a quote shared by the “Up and Adams Show” about a huge key for the team this season.
“So, when you talk about a guy like Davante Adams and your offensive coordinator, you got to get him in positions to open him up and be successful. And what that means for Davante Adams is get him the ball. Just get him the ball. And if Aidan O’Connell, Gardner Minshew, whoever is throwing the ball, understands that, then you’re going to have some success on the offensive side of the football.”
There are very few wide receivers or players in general around the NFL that can make the kind of impact that Davante Adams is capable of doing for the Las Vegas Raiders. They absolutely need to get him more involved than he was at times last season.
Adams ended the 2023 NFL season with 103 receptions for 1,144 yards and eight touchdowns. Those numbers would be career seasons for many players, but he was frustrated at times with his lack of involvement in the offense, especially under McDaniels.
Simply looking at the quarterback situation for the Raiders, they’ll need Adams to play a pivotal role. Both Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew are solid quarterbacks, but they aren’t players capable of willing the team to wins. They’ll rely heavily on Adams and other playmakers to do a large portion of the playmaking.
If the Las Vegas Raiders truly want to work their way back into the playoffs, following the suggestion that Reese is making is a must. Get Adams the football and let him work. It’s a simple key, but one that will help them be very successful.
