Haters Gonna Hate
Yes, we know the Raiders had one of, if not, the worst offense in football last season and there is a a high level of expectation for them to continue the disappointing run (pun not intended). I’ve consistently praised Ashton through the off-season this year and received plenty of push back in the form of “the offense is going to suck again,” “no QB to take the pressure off,” “o-line is terrible.”
What seems to be slipping everyone’s mind is the numerous changes that have been made to this team over the last six months. Am I calling for the Raiders to win the Super Bowl? Of course not (wouldn’t that be exciting?) I’m not even saying they’re a playoff team yet. What I am trying to say is we should actually have higher expectations for what this team can offer in fantasy this year when it comes to Ashton. Let’s take a look into what makes this top 5 claim possible.
Klint Kubiak and The O-Line
Kuuuuubs!! There is reason to celebrate the reigning Super Bowl winning offensive coordinator coming to town as the new head coach. He has a really great running back system that was able to get the 30 year old Alvin Kamara back in the top 10 for fantasy with only 14 games played in 2024. Then last season, he goes to Seattle and gets the Ken Walker/Zach Charbonnet duo firing on all cylinders. Not to mention he helps keep Sam Darnold cooking and leads that offense to a Super Bowl championship. With that kind of presence in an offensive system, it doesn’t matter if Kirk Cousins, who by the way we are sleeping on as a good QB, or Fernando Mendoza start. They can keep the pass game alive enough to alleviate the pressure of of Jeanty and open up lanes for him to run through. That’s not even including the schemes he will draw up to get the most out of Jeanty with each and every touch.