Raiders Hope Extended Playing Time for Young Players Pays Off

Injuries have forced the Las Vegas Raiders to play a high number of young players. They hope it pays off down the road.

Dec 16, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Drake London (5) catches the ball against Las Vegas Raiders safety Isaiah Pola-Mao (20) and cornerback Decamerion Richardson (25) in the first half at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Injuries have forced the Las Vegas Raiders to play a significant part of the season, featuring many players who have been in the National Football League for two seasons or less. This has led to the expected learning curve that comes with so much inexperience being on the field simultaneously.

However, many of the young players the Raiders have turned to, were drafted by the team with the hopes of one day becoming significant contributors for the team. Unfortunately, or fortunately, the Raiders have had to depend on those players much sooner than anyone expected.

While that has led to many mistakes and losses, the Raiders have leaned on their long-term approach of drafting well and developing those players. Still, experience is the best teacher, and the youth movement the Raiders have rolled out has definitely gained experience over the last couple of months.

Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce explained how playing helps the game slow down for young players. His playing days help him identify with what his players are experiencing.

"Oh, yeah. I mean, I call it the matrix," Pierce said. "As I got older, everything slowed down. I can see it coming from a mile away. When you’re a young guy, you can't see it. When you talk to D-Cam [Decamerion Richardson] or Jackson [Powers-Johnson], there's just certain things that they just don't see right away.

"And you need repetition. You need that to happen to you. You need to get burnt a couple times to realize, 'Oh, I can't do that, or I can,' right? So, those are the part of your lessons, and you try to mimic that in practice, but there's nothing like practice compared to a game. So, I think as a young player, once you learn from your mistakes and you really rep them and you go through it again.

"As a coaching staff, you put those guys in position again in practice, walkthroughs, things of that nature. So, there's a learning curve, if that makes sense, right? So, I think our younger guys really do it. And listen, they take a lot of pride in doing that work. Nobody wants to go out there and make a mistake. So, I think that's the good part about it, we got guys that's prideful about their work."

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