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The Las Vegas Raiders are back and ready for what should be an intriguing regular season, but first, they must get through training camp. Below are five predictions for the next few weeks of camp for Las Vegas.
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Raiders’ Defense Proves To Be for Real
Las Vegas has been bad on both sides of the ball in recent seasons. However, their defensive roster was regularly ignored under previous regimes. The Raiders routinely fielded one of the league’s lowest-paid defenses in recent seasons until the signing of Christian Wilkins changed the numbers.
Still, aside from Wilkins’ contract, Las Vegas has ranked among the lowest-paid defenses in the league. This was even the case with Maxx Crosby’s contract on the books. Needless to say, you get what you pay for in life and the NFL, and the Raiders finally paid the money.
After solidifying their group of linebackers with the respective additions of Nakobe Dean and Quay Walker, and adding Kwity Paye and Keyron Crawford to the defensive line, the Raiders are in a position to help compensate for a questionable defensive backfield.
Training camp will be the first glimpse of how good Las Vegas’ defense can be this season. They are faster, quicker, more athletic, and now have the talent to call plays more aggressively. A subpar roster of players will no longer be what the Raiders are known for on defense.
Tonka Hemingway Takes the Next Step
Hemingway began making solid progress at the end of last season. Several veteran defensive linemen praised Hemingway at the end of his rookie season, as he came along nicely with additional playing time on Sundays. He already looks improved in camp.
Hemingway will have his opportunities; his former positional coach is now the team’s defensive coordinator. Hemingway will push for a starting spot along the Raiders’ interior defensive line. He will be one of the Raiders’ most productive second-year players this upcoming season.
More Than Just the WR Position Will Be Handled ‘By Committee’
Earlier this offseason, the Raiders’ front office and coaching staff verbally confirmed they would handle the wide receiver position with multiple receivers. Kubiak also mentioned at his introductory press conference that he planned to call plays in conjunction with his staff.
Training camp will prove that Las Vegas plans to take that approach whenever the opportunity presents itself. The Raiders will not be bound to doing things any one particular way.Any combination of receivers, defensive linemen, cornerbacks, and more will be handled by committee.
Decision on Decamerion Richardson, Other CBS
There comes a time in many players’ careers where they either have to produce or begin accepting the fact that their future may be elsewhere. This is a common occurrence around the league, especially for players who have not earned a starting position.
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The third season is about when that happens for most players who are still with the team that drafted them, as teams make their decisions after a player’s fourth year. The Raiders will spend the next few seasons rebuilding their cornerback group. Additional talent will be brought in moving forward.
This will require them to move on from some who are currently on the roster. Training camp will be critical for several of Las Vegas’ cornerbacks, most notably Decamerion Richardson. As he enters his third season in the league, the Raiders’ coaching staff will have its eyes on him and the unit.
Las Vegas’ cornerback is the position group with the most questions surrounding it. Richardson will have the chance to solidify himself with a new coaching staff. However, it will take a strong training camp for him to do so. He has the potential; he must produce.
Cousins Returns To Form One Last Time
Father Time is undefeated, but Cousins did not make it this long in the league by accident. The Raiders do not need much more from Cousins than to help get their rebuild off the ground, but he may do more. Cousins has beaten the odds time and time again throughout his career.
This stint with the Raiders may or may not be his last rodeo, but as of now, it is fair to believe that he will do what Las Vegas needs him to do. Las Vegas does not need Cousins to lead them to 10 wins or even a winning season.
Las Vegas simply needs him to play well enough, long enough, to buy Fernando Mendoza time to develop. If that is the metric by which Cousins’ signing with the Raiders will be judged, as it should be, Cousins will be as advertised.
Las Vegas needs Cousins to be better than the last seven quarterbacks they have started in the past three seasons. That is it. They have already given him a better supporting cast and coaching staff than those quarterbacks.
Today’s best reads
- Raiders Training Camp Report 2: Top Takeaways & Mendoza Update
- Raiders Training Camp Roster: Full 90-Man Roster Entering Camp
- Ranking Raiders’ Defensive Position Groups Entering Training Camp
- Every Rookie To Watch During Raiders Training Camp
- Every Open Starting Job at Raiders Training Camp
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/raiders/onsi as Five Bold Predictions for Raiders Training Camp.
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This story was originally published July 30, 2026 at 5:00 AM.