Coach Pierce on the Differences He's Noticed in Raiders' Second-Year Players

For the Las Vegas Raiders to be successful this upcoming season, they will need a few of their second-year players to improve. Coach Antonio Pierce has already seen changes take place.

Mar 25, 2024; Orlando, FL, USA; Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce talks to media during the NFL annual league meetings at the JW Marriott. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports / Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

The Las Vegas Raiders have completed the first week of training camp, and there have already been noticeable differences in many of their second-year players.

Coach Antonio Pierce spoke about what he has seen from players like Michael Mayer and Jakorian Bennett, who are expected to significantly improve from last season.  

“Yeah, what I see is guys playing a little bit more looser, to be honest, at ease kind of finding their role. Who am I?" Pierce said at training camp. "I heard Big Mike [Michael Mayer] talk, like, ‘I worked on getting faster and was doing yoga.’ You got to find out what it's like to be a pro. What worked in college doesn't work in the pros sometimes for you, so just adjusting your body, your routines.

“I think you see with [Jakorian] Bennett is a gentleman that started early in the season for us, had some rough patches, went on the bench, came back in here and there, boom, he hit the reset button and came back with a different mindset and said, ‘You know what, I'm ready to compete.’ And he's doing such. And you see that with Tre Tucker, he changed his body. He was here this entire offseason and got bigger, stronger, and faster. Had a hell of a play yesterday in the two-minute drill. 

Pierce credits the team's veterans for helping bring the younger players along as they enter their second season in the National Football League. The importance of players like Mayer, Bennett and Tucker cannot be overstated, as each player’s success will play a vital role in the team’s success this upcoming season.

“It's just the confidence they're playing with, and more importantly, I think it's a credit to their teammates,” Pierce said. “Davante [Adams] is doing a really good job, Jakobi Myers and those guys are around and really loving up and coaching up our young receivers. And you see that amongst our team. Obviously, we got some young guys at the tight end position, but they work together. Like this morning, you saw Brock and Mike having breakfast together. That's cool.”

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