The Las Vegas Raiders fell a close one to the Houston Texas 23-21 on Sunday maintaining there 2nd overall draft selection but in the process young talent continued to showcase some good strides going forward.
The most notable being first rounder Ashton Jeanty who logged 24 attempts for 128 yards and a touchdown. Additionally, he added a 60 yard touchdown reception. 106 of Jeanty’s 128 rushing yards came after contact and the rookie runningback forced 14 missed tackles including 12 on the ground and 2 in his lone reception. Fellow offensive rookies Jack Bech and Caleb Rogers also flashed with Bech logging 2 receptions for 43 yards including a 31 yarder early in the game. The Raiders have started to incorporate Bech more frequently in recent weeks with Bech logging nearly 75% of his 224 yards this season in the last four weeks including 50 vs the Broncos and 43 vs the Texans.
Bech also went 1 for 1 on his contested catch opportunities bringing him to an 74% rate on contested catches this season which leads all rookie WRs. Third rounder Caleb Rogers continued his development and track towards starting consistently going forward and in 2026 vs the Texans where he allowed 0 pressures in 27 pass block attempts including a 90.1 pass blocking grade via PFF. Through his first four games as a starter Rogers has allowed just 1 sack and 5 pressures with a 80.2 pass blocking grade and 69 overall PFF grade. Rogers has shown good traits as a pass protector and run blocker though his initial time as a starter after initial reports stated he was “so far from ready to start”. Fellow rookie Charles Grant recorded 2 snaps after head coach Pete Carroll stated he’d see “increased playtime” vs Houston.
On defense while the Raiders didn’t see a ton of star plays that Jeanty, Bech, and Rogers turned in they recorded some strong performances. Cornerback Darien Porter Jr turned in a good recovery performance after struggling vs the Eagles allowing 2 receptions for 40 yards while adding a PBU and allowing a 61.9 QBR. Porter has had his ups and downs this off-season but has shown some good coverage instincts and the athletic ability that got him drafted inside the top 100. Porter is young to the position but his initial success is key for his long term future as a starter for Las Vegas. Tonka Hemingway continued his stretch of development turning in 2 tackles, a TFL, and 3 stops while adding 2 pressures and a 9.7% pass rush win rate. Hemingway has consistently seen his snap counts rise through the end of the season and the fourth rounder from South Carolina consistently has shown the ability to be a good rotational defensive tackle and can defend the run as well. Hemingway’s season has been up and down but he’s developed well to end the year. JJ Pegues logged 11 defensive snaps with a 41% run stop win rate and a stop where he’s developed into a strong candidate going forward at nose tackle.
