Pretty quiet day in Denver
Let’s check in on the Las Vegas Raiders’ second-year players and see how the 2023 draft class fared in a 34-18 Week 5 loss at the Denver Broncos and what to expect going into A Week 6 home game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Eight of the nine players from the draft class are currently on the roster. The Raiders cut third-round pick Byron Young and he was claimed by the Philadelphia Eagles. He was inactive in Week 1.
Tyree Wilson:
The No. 7 overall pick had a quiet day after he had a strong performance in Week 4. Wilson had five pressures and played well, taking advantage of a battered Browns’ offensive line. Against, Denver, Wilson (who played 54 percent of the snaps) had just one tackle. Consistency is one of Wilson’s biggest issues.
Michael Mayer:
The second-round pick from Notre Dame missed his second straight game he was away for personal reasons according to the team. Mayer has had a quiet start to the season. He has four catches for 21 yards this season.
Tre Tucker:
The third-round pick played 84 percent of the snaps after playing a career-high 85 percent in Week 4. He will continue to get a lot of playing time because of the Davante Adams saga. He was quiet against Denver. Tucker had two catches for 18 yards and two rush attempts for eight yards. Tucker seems to be a matchup player, but with Adams out, the Raiders need consistent production.
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Jakorian Bennett:
The fourth-round pick had another strong game. He had another pass defensed. He has, at least, one in every game and has six on the season..
Aidan O’Connell:
The fourth-round pick replaced Gardner Minshew. He completed 10 of 20 passes for 94 yards and he was intercepted. Wednesday, O’Connell was named the starter and he has a chance to keep it all season.
Chris Smith:
The fifth-round safety from Georgia played 11 snaps on defense, his first defensive action of the season and just his second in his career. He played a season-high 87 percent of the snaps on special teams. It will be interesting to see if he can get in the mix at safety moving forward.
Amari Burney:
Burney played eight snaps at linebacker after playing 12 snaps on in Week 4, which was his first defensive action of the season. The Raiders are banged up at linebacker, so he may continue to get defensive play in addition to his normal special teams action.
Nesta Jade Silvera.
Silvera played 10 snaps in Week 5, up from 6 in Week 4 but down from 26 in Week 3. He also played a season-high nine special teams snaps against Denver. It’s not big, but Silvera does have a role on this team.
Conclusion:
Wilson and Tucker need to show more consistency, while Bennett keeps plugging away,