At this time next week, we’ll be sitting here preparing for the Las Vegas Raiders’ season opener against the New England Patriots! But first, we have this week’s mailbag to get to, touching on the 53-man roster and depth chart.
Q: When are the Raiders going to add another cornerback? I think they want Darien Porter to be the other starter, but they need a vet in there.
A: Maybe during the season they will add another veteran corner if the secondary is struggling, but at this point, the roster is what it is heading into Week 1. Granted, Jabrill Peppers was a surprising late release, and it wouldn’t surprise me if Patrick Graham pounds the table to bring Peppers in. But that doesn’t solve the cornerback problem.
I think if John Spytek and Pete Carroll were going to sign a corner, it would have happened this week, like they did with Amari Cooper.
Vinny Bonsignore posted on X/Twitter that the coaching staff likes what they have in the position group, so I don’t see them making any changes anytime soon, barring an injury. In my opinion, it’s the weakest position on the roster right now, but I do think they have some intriguing developmental players like Darien Porter and Decamerion Richardson.
I agree that the defense could use another veteran corner to be better this year, but the coaching staff seems comfortable throwing the young guys into the deep end of the pool and seeing who can swim, so to speak. Undoubtedly, that’s going to lead to some growing pains this fall, though.
Q: Does the cornerback room have potential, or do you think we’re in for an overhaul next March?
A: I think Porter and Richardson have the potential to become quality starters down the line, and Kyu Blu Kelly caught my eye with how he played against the Seahawks a few weeks ago. Kelly could be another intriguing guy who has a future in Las Vegas since he’s only 24 years old and entering year three in the NFL. Meanwhile, I get the feeling that Eric Stokes is more of a one-year rental since he’s about to enter his fifth season and has already flamed out with the Packers.
So, I don’t think the Raiders will have an overhaul at corner in the offseason since they have a handful of young but raw players at the position. They might go after one bigger free agent or draft prospect to replace Stokes, who is only on a one-year contract, but I don’t see them completely changing the meeting room like the new regime did this past spring.
Q: Are you surprised that Jack Bech didn’t show more in preseason, or did you think at the time that he was taken too high? Could he be a good slot guy against zone defenses?
A: Yes, I was a little surprised Bech didn’t hit the ground running this summer. I thought he had a fairly “pro-ready” skillset coming out of college and was worth a late second-round pick, but he’s coming along slower than I would have expected. That isn’t to say he’s a bust or won’t be a good pro eventually, I just thought he’d be at least the No. 3 wide receiver going into the season opener.
Bech still has plenty of time to grow and could be one of those rookies who become more productive in the second half of the season as he gets more comfortable in the NFL. He’s not quick-twitched or an elite separator, but he can be a good contested catch guy and zone beater down the line.
Q: What do you make of the Amari Cooper signing, especially the timing? Wouldn’t it have been beneficial to have signed him earlier in order to build rapport with Geno Smith and get familiar with the playbook?
A: In my opinion, the answers to these two questions are somewhat related. I get the sense that the timing of this signing is a result of the coaching staff thinking Bech and/or Dont’e Thornton Jr. would be more ready to go than they are. So, the staff wanted to bring in a veteran to avoid putting too much on the rookies’ plates.
Obviously, that’s the opposite of what’s going on at cornerback. That can be chalked up to Carroll being a defensive-minded head coach who has a strong background in getting the most out of his secondary. In other words, he’s more comfortable in his abilities as a coach to work with the young corners than the wide receivers.
It definitely would have been beneficial to have Cooper in training camp to build chemistry with Smith. However, those two are well-tenured veterans who have plenty of experience playing with new teammates, which can help ease the transition.
Cooper was in a similar spot when the Raiders traded him to the Cowboys, and he quickly built a rapport with Dak Prescott. For context, those two connected for 53 receptions, 725 yards and six touchdowns in nine games in 2018. I wouldn’t expect to see that same production from the 31-year-old; that’s just meant to serve as an example of how he’s been able to build chemistry on the fly with a new quarterback.
A: I would assume the Raiders will go with the veteran receivers to begin the year; Jakobi Meyers, Tre Tucker and Cooper, the caveat being how quickly Cooper picks up the playbook. That third spot should be pretty fluid, though, where if Bech or Thornton start stringing together a few good weeks of practice, they’ll earn a starting spot down the line.
It’s in Chip Kelly’s DNA to run the ball, so ideally, the Raiders will have a run-first offense. However, the number of pass attempts versus rushing attempts the team has at the end of the year will depend on how many stops the defense can make to prevent the offense from having to play catch-up and throw the ball more in the second half of games. Given my outlook for this defense, that could prove to be challenging…
Q: I would like to know your current thinking on the Jakobi Meyers situation. If the Raiders’ plan all along was to wait to see Jakobi in action in a regular-season game or two before committing to an extension, is that still an option? Or is it that they feel his eventual replacement is already on the roster, like Jack Bech? Or is it that the two sides are just too far apart on contract terms?
A: I touched on this a couple of weeks ago, talking about why Meyers hasn’t been extended yet. To summarize, I do think the new regime is a little hesitant to re-sign the 28-year-old (turns 29 in November), seeing as they have two rookie receivers who can be long-term options. That being said, I won’t rule out a deal getting done early in the season, especially if Meyers has a productive start.
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I don’t know what type of deal he’s looking for, nor what the Raiders are willing to spend. So, I can’t shine any light on how far apart the two sides are.
Q: When a team grabs a player from another team off the waiver wire, how long do they have to stay on the 53 if they don’t get injured?
A: Per the league’s website, any player claimed off waivers must be on the roster for at least three weeks.
Players with fewer than four years of experience are subject to waivers, in which teams can make claims. Players are awarded to clubs based on last year’s draft order — the Tennessee Titans getting the No. 1 claim spot. A claimed player must be placed on the 53-man roster and paid for a minimum of three weeks. After the waiver period closes, all non-claimed players are free agents.
Q: Would 2 first-round picks and Malcolm Koonce have been enough and/or worth Micah Parsons? And, would you do it?
A: The Cowboys have invested second-round picks on edge defenders in three out of the last four drafts: Sam Williams (2022), Marshawn Kneeland (2024) and Donovan Ezeiruaku (2025), in addition to bringing Dante Fowler Jr. back in free agency this offseason.
So, I think they were looking for more of a proven run-stuffing defensive tackle in the Parsons trade since Mazi Smith (2023 first-round pick) has been a bust. The Raiders don’t have that type of player on the roster (they could use a nose tackle themselves), making it difficult to beat the Packers’ offer with Kenny Clark.
I do think Green Bay won that trade initially, since they’re my pick to win the NFC after adding Parsons to the roster. However, I wouldn’t have done that deal if I’m Spytek.
With Maxx Crosby already in Las Vegas and on a pretty big contract, the defense doesn’t need to add another high-priced edge-rusher. But what the team does need is a long-term quarterback, and giving up two first-round picks makes getting the future of the franchise a lot more difficult. Green Bay can do it because the team already has Jordan Love behind center and under contract through 2028, and the team is in its Super Bowl window.
Ultimately, it was always a long shot and more of a pipe dream for Parsons to end up with the Silver and Black.
A: I wouldn’t put too much weight into Spencer Rattler winning the starting quarterback job for a team that will likely be one of the worst, if not the worst, in the league this year. I think the Saints are about the only club he’d be a Week 1 starter for, and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if Rattler gets benched for Tyler Shough at some point this season.
Rattler has solid arm talent, but his decision-making has been awful since his Oklahoma days, and that was still the case last season. Tommy Eichenberg may not be a starter right now, but I could see him becoming one by the end of the season or next year. So, I’d still go with Eichenberg over a quarterback who seems more like a placeholder in New Orleans.
A: Once I knew I had another backup option like Kenny Pickett, sure, I would have tried to trade Aidan O’Connell. However, I think it would have been hard to find any takers. As you mentioned, O’Connell was bad in the preseason, and it wasn’t like he was considered a hot commodity before having four turnovers in three games against backups. At best, the Raiders probably would have gotten a sixth-round pick for AOC, and a seventh-rounder seems more likely if they had been able to trade him.
A: I appreciate the attempt at giving me a leading question (LOL), but I disagree.
I understand giving up a fifth-rounder for a backup quarterback when the in-house option is going to be out for two months—and again, didn’t look good over the last month—and the starter turns 35 at the beginning of October. I think Geno will be good this season, but let’s be honest, his age makes him an injury risk to miss a game or two.
Pickett didn’t work out as a starter in Pittsburgh, but I think he can be a good backup in the league. He played well against the Cowboys in his one start last year and was solid coming off the bench against the Commanders when Jalen Hurts went down. That’s all you’re really looking for when you’re turning to the bench at that position.
So, Spytek might have paid a slight premium in the trade, but he got the best backup option that was available at the time. Also, the Raiders are in line to get some comp picks with the free agents that left this offseason, so they’ll get the fifth-round pick back, in a way.
A: I wish I had an answer for you; that was one of the moves I didn’t understand from cutdown day. Tommy Mellott didn’t look good in the preseason, but he was switching positions and making the jump from the FCS to the NFL. So, the organization had to know Mellott was going to be a major project when drafting him.
I understand not keeping him on the 53-man roster, but not stashing ‘Touchdown Tommy’ on the practice squad is a mistake, in my opinion. Granted, he was a sixth-round pick, so it’s not that big of a deal. But hindsight being 20-20, I would have liked to see Spytek draft someone who they were more willing to be patient with.
That’ll do it for this week’s mailbag. Thank you all for submitting questions and, as your weekly reminder, if you’d like to have your questions answered in a future column, tweet them at me, @MHolder95, email them to [email protected] or look for our weekly call for questions on the site. The latter will continue to publish on Thursdays.
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