The Las Vegas Raiders have a new head coach, officially hiring former Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak after the Super Bowl. This means the Raiders will shift toward the Kyle Shanahan-Sean McVay style of offense, featuring a wide-zone heavy rushing attack and a lot of play-action concepts off of that in the passing game, since Kubiak comes from that coaching tree.
So, of the holdover players on Las Vegas’ current roster, who is a bad fit in this type of system?
Aidan O’Connell
This is a moot point since the Raiders are widely expected to use the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft on Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, who would be a great fit in Kubiak’s offense. But the remaining O’Connell believers within Raider Nation who are hoping a new coach can make a formidable starter out of the 2023 fourth-round pick are going to be disappointed.
According to Pro Football Focus, Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold had the ninth-highest play-action rate (27.6 percent) among QBs with at least 340 dropbacks during the 2025 regular season and was second with a 90.4 passing grade on such concepts.
When O’Connell made seven starts and appeared in nine total games in 2024, he had a 23.4 percent play-action rate and posted a 49.9 passing grade that was second to last among qualifying quarterbacks. He was better in this department as a rookie, earning a 69.7 mark, but that still ranked in the bottom half of the league’s signal callers.
Also, O’Connell struggles with accuracy in the intermediate passing game, owning a 52.9 adjusted completion percentage in 2024 and 59.4 in 2023 on passes 10 to 19 yards past the line of scrimmage, and that’s a big part of Kubiak’s scheme. In comparison, such throws accounted for 21.4 percent of Darnold’s attempts last season, and he posted a 68.6 adjusted completion percentage.
DJ Glaze
It’s no secret that Glaze must improve in pass protection regardless of what offense Las Vegas runs moving forward. He finished the regular season tied for the second-most pressures allowed with 48, per PFF, as the concerns about his athleticism and ability to stay in front of speed rushers coming out of college have reared their heads.
While Kubiak’s use of play-action can help mitigate that issue, it’s actually the running game that makes the Maryland product a bad fit.
A wide-zone system requires athletic offensive tackles who can get to edge defenders’ outside shoulders to reach block them, or climb up to the second level and block linebackers in space. Glaze might be known for his run-blocking, but he’s much better in a gap-heavy scheme with down blocks and double teams rather than the stretch runs that the Raiders’ new head coach likes to use.
For example, Glaze earned a solid 68.4 PFF run blocking grade as a rookie, when 36.6 percent of the play calls were gap runs. However, he dropped to a 54.9 mark this past season, which coincided with an 8.3 percent reduction in gap runs. The 2024 third-round pick’s best chance at having a successful career in Vegas is by switching to guard, and that could still be an issue from a fit standpoint.
Dont’e Thornton Jr.
To be fair and similar to Glaze in pass protection, Thornton’s route running has to improve to reach his full potential in the NFL, whether he’s playing for Kubiak or any other coach. The Tennessee product has plenty of speed to be a deep threat, but right now, cornerbacks can sit back in off coverage and stay on top of him because they don’t have to worry about the short to intermediate routes against him.
As mentioned above, the intermediate passing game is a significant part of Kubiak’s playbook. So, the pressure is on even more for Thornton to become a better route runner.
Adding to that, this style of offense includes a lot of sight adjustments for wide receivers, meaning what route they run is often dictated by the defense’s coverage. That means wideouts need to be able to run a full route tree because they could be asked to go deep, intermediate or short on any given play to make the defense wrong.
In other words, the heat is on for the 2025 fourth-round pick to improve his biggest weakness with the Raiders’ coaching change.
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