Raiders offense 2024: Optimism should be high

Wide receiver Davante Adams spoke about the potential the Las Vegas Raiders offense has and the dangerous weapons on the team. But he was also very keen to note reality could be sobering if the team hasn’t progressed like it should by midseason.

Optimism should be plentiful and permeating for the Las Vegas Raiders. At this stage of the offseason where install and learning is ever-present — especially on the offensive side of the ball — the Silver & Black’s elevator is on the ground floor.

In order to ascend and reach new levels in offensive coordinator Luke Getsy’s scheme and system, there will be plenty of missteps and miscues. And that’s fine. This is the time where stumbles are commonplace as Las Vegas under head coach Antonio Pierce, install a new offense to replace the former regime’s.

As such, the Raiders should be confident and encouraged despite the offseason growing pains. Just ask elite wide receiver Davante Adams.

“Yeah, I mean, what is that called out there that we just did? Practice. That’s it, right?,” the 31-year-old who heads into his 11th season in the league said when asked about the learning process and how he puts it into perspective, after the team’s mandatory minicamp session last week. “This is the opportunity to get all of that stuff ironed out. It’s going to be a lot of mistakes. It’s going to be mistakes made during the season, but this time of year gives us the opportunity to get ahead of it and learn the system.”

What works in Adams’ favor is his familiarity with Getsy. During the pair’s respective time with the Green Bay Packers, Getsy spent plenty of time with Adams as the former was the wide receivers coach for two seasons (2016 and 2017). Those two years, Getsy got to know Adams well in terms of strengths and weaknesses and what the receiver liked to do and didn’t. Getsy grew from a position coach to a full-fledged offensive coordinator with the Chicago Bears (2022 to 2023) before landing the OC role in Las Vegas this offseason.

So it’s not surprising to hear Adams note the immediacy he has with Getsy’s offense.

“Thankfully, I’ve been in this system for a long time, so 90 percent of these calls are coming through and I know what to do right away without even getting in my book for real,” Adams said. “It’s a learning process for everybody getting comfortable with it. It was the same thing that happened with the last offense when were here, trying to just figure out how things change on motions, getting lined up, it’s different formations. You might hear some things that were similar to what you had before, getting that out of your mind and kind of unlearning some stuff is a part of the process.

“So, we’re just going to keep working. That’s all it is. It’s the second day of mandatory minicamp, so we got a lot of time. We just got to make good use of our time.”

That last part is vital — due in large part to the Raiders offense being behind the eight ball in terms of cohesion, development, and synergy compared to the defense. That unit heads into year three making a quantum leap in 2023 under defensive coordinator Patrick Graham.

Las Vegas has serious competition at several key positions on offense — namely quarterback between incumbent second-year signal caller Aidan O’Connell and full of swagger veteran Gardner Minshew — and making good use of time is critical for the Raiders. While the growing pains are welcome now and early in the season, Adams is all too well aware of how jarring and blunt reality can be if the Silver & Black don’t realize potential.

“The frustration comes in mid-season when we haven’t made the progress that we need. At this point, you’re not a very mature or experienced football player if you’re getting frustrated in mandatory minicamp,” Adams said. “... So, yeah, we just got to keep working and definitely not getting frustrated to the point where I’m thinking it’s not going to work out. But we’re going to keep our standard. You got to have realistic expectations at this point, but always keep your standard where it’s supposed to be.”

That standard Adams referred to is the extremely high-level of expectations he has for himself. It’s a bar that’s mountainous that’s likely only matched by teammate Maxx Crosby’s. Adams’ first two seasons in Silver & Black resulted in 203 receptions for 2,660 yards and 22 touchdowns (355 targets) in 34 games. Excellent numbers for an aging wide receiver that hasn’t shown any glimpses of slowing down. That all said, Adams’ 55.6 percent and 58.9 percent catch rates in 2022 and 2023 represent the second and third lowest of his career.

Thus, more can be done.

A lot has to go right for an NFL offense to click. The offensive line needs to be stout to give the passing game time and the holes and openings to allow the running game to flow. The quarterbacks needs to make decisions both pre and post snap and make the proper reads and distribute the ball. Running backs must take advantage of what the offensive line provides and be an asset as a pass catcher and pass protector. Wide receivers and tight ends need to run crisp routes and catch passes thrown their way and be effective blockers at the point of attack and downfield.

And the entire unit must avoid penalties that can dampen or even kill drives.

Doing all that while mastering what Getsy is cooking up is no easy task. But that’s what the offseason is for and like Adams said, there’s plenty of time.

Leave it to Adams to put it all into perspective.

“I mean, you stop talking about potential when you’re like 10 years old, so at the end of the day, it don’t really matter how good we can be. I definitely wouldn’t want to put any expectations on anybody, but it’s no secret we got some dangerous weapons on the team as a whole, not to mention offense. So, guys stay at it and keep learning and keep getting better and pushing each other, it’s a lot of competition right now. So, that’s what’s going to make everybody better.

“And then, I guess we’ll see what that potential is.”