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Player who benefited most from draft: QB Derek Carr

After another offseason full of rumors that had Carr being replaced at different times by Deshaun Watson, Russell Wilson and/or Aaron Rodgers, the Raiders stood pat. They did not draft Carr's heir apparent and, actually, strengthened the roster around him with what the Raiders contend is a cornerstone right tackle in Alex Leatherwood. They also rebuilt the defense, as five of Las Vegas' seven draft picks came on that side of the ball. No more excuses, right? -- Paul Gutierrez

Dunking on the Raiders' first-round selection has become a new tradition during draft season. This year, it was Mike Mayock and Jon Gruden's decision to select Alex Leatherwood with the 17th overall pick. You know you made a surprising move when Daniel Jeremiah's immediate response is, "This one's a little bit of a ... it's an interesting pick." Right tackle was a position of need for the Raiders, but Leatherwood was widely labeled as a reach. We heard similar things about Clelin Ferrell in 2019 and Damon Arnette in 2020. Public perception ultimately doesn't matter a lick, but Vegas needs to start hitting on some of these unorthodox moves if the franchise is to move forward.

They didn't have a great draft and they have issues at a lot of key spots. It's time for Jon Gruden to get this team to the playoffs or the talk about his job being in jeopardy might begin to bubble to the surface.

They're shaping up as one of the toughest teams to figure -- they could win 11 games or lose 11, and neither outcome would necessarily be surprising. O-line still looms as a potential shortfall even if questionable first-round pick Alex Leatherwood has an All-Pro rookie season.

The Raiders' defense was a disaster when Jon Gruden arrived in 2018, and it's remained a disaster since, finishing 31st, 31st and 28th in efficiency over the past three years. This offseason, the Raiders signed Yannick Ngakoue, drafted safety Trevon Moehrig and brought in Gus Bradley to take over as defensive coordinator. It seems unlikely that those moves will lead to a significantly improved unit.

The offense has been solid the last two years, but Gruden's teams have failed to win a single playoff game in his last nine seasons as an NFL head coach.