Getty Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden.
The Oakland Raiders are less than a week away from the start of the regular season against the Denver Broncos. Oakland had a strong training camp and preseason, so the team had to make some really tough cuts ahead of the deadline. Since the Raiders have finally trimmed their roster down, they’ve released their first official depth chart of the season. This lineup shouldn’t change much before the Monday night’s game. Below we’re going to go through the most notable things that we learned from this new depth chart.
Offensive Depth Chart
*denotes starter
QB: Derek Carr*, Mike Glennon, Deshone Kizer
RB: Josh Jacobs*, Jalen Richard, DeAndré Washington
WR1: Antonio Brown*, J.J. Nelson, Dwayne Harris
WR2: Tyrell Williams*, Hunter Renfrow, Ryan Grant
LT: Kolton Miller*, Brandon Parker
LG: Jordan Devey*, Jonathan Cooper
C: Rodney Hudson*, Andre James
RG: Gabe Jackson*, Denzelle Good
RT: Trent Brown*, David Sharpe
TE: Darren Waller*, Foster Moreau, Derek Carrier
FB: Alec Ingold*
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Looks Like Gabe Jackson Will Be Back Soon
Not much has changed since the Raiders released their first unofficial depth chart during training camp. The only starter that changed is that Jordan Davey will be starting over Richie Incognito, who will be serving a two-game suspension to start the season. What’s interesting is that Gabe Jackson is still listed as the starter even though he’s out with an MCL injury. The Raiders made the decision not to put him on injured reserved and saved a roster spot for him. His return could come sooner than originally expected.
No big surprises from the skill positions. Antonio Brown and Tyrell Williams were the obvious starters heading into training camp and didn’t give the Raiders any reason to doubt them. Josh Jacobs obviously did enough in practice to win the starting running back job. He only played one drive during the preseason, but that was enough for Jon Gruden and company to know that he was ready.
Defensive Depth Chart
DE1: Clelin Ferrell*, Josh Mauro
DT1: Maurice Hurst*, Corey Liuget
DT2: Johnathan Hankins*, P.J. Hall
DE2: Arden Key*, Benson Mayowa, Maxx Crosby
SLB: Tahir Whitehead*, Marquel Lee
MLB: Vontaze Burfict*
WLB: Nicholas Morrow*, Kyle Wilber
LCB: Daryl Worley*, Trayvon Mullen
CB2: Gareon Conley*, Keisean Nixon
FS: Lamarcus Joyner*, Johnathan Abram*, Curtis Riley
SS: Karl Joseph*, Erik Harris, Dallin Leavitt
Raiders Go Young on the Defensive Line
On the team’s first depth chart, Josh Mauro was the starter at one the defensive end spots and Arden Key was a backup. Well, looks like the second-year player proved himself enough this offseason and preseason to win back his starting spot. Key had a disappointing rookie year in 2018, but he gained muscle in the offseason and will have more talent around him. He should get more chances to get after the quarterback in 2019.
Clelin Ferrell and Maurice Hurst have another two spots on the defensive line. Ferrell, a rookie, is looking to fill the void at pass rush for the Raiders. Hurst, entering his second year, was one of the team’s most impressive defenders in 2018 and had an excellent preseason. He should only get better and prove to be a really strong player for Oakland going forward. Also, it’ll be interesting to see if Nicholas Morrow will be able to hold onto that starting weakside linebacker spot. Brandon Marshall, the expected starter, was cut, so time will tell if Morrow is up to the task.
Special Teams Depth Chart
P: A.J. Cole
K: Daniel Carlson
H: A.J. Cole
LS: Trent Sieg
KR: Dwayne Harris, Jalen Richard
PR: Dwayne Harris, Jalen Richard
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