Offseason Stealing Signals, Raiders & Cardinals

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I had to spin off a long intro about the Rams and Seahawks into its own post , and it talked about the evolution of the sport schematically. It only makes sense to move next to the teams that hired the offensive coordinators away from those teams. The Raiders bring on Seattle’s Klint Kubiak as their new head coach, and he inherits an offense with an elite TE and a recent top-10 overall pick at RB. The Cardinals bring on L.A.’s Mike LaFleur as their new head coach, and he inherits an offense with an elite TE and a recent top-10 overall pick at RB. He also has a recent top-10 overall pick at WR! Lucky him, although lookahead lines have the Cardinals with the fewest projected points this season, owing to an absolutely brutal, 32nd-ranked schedule, so let’s not get too excited about how easy LaFleur has it. To that point, Kubiak has another exciting thing — the No. 1 overall pick as his new franchise QB. LaFleur’s Cardinals will likely also play a rookie at QB for part of the season, and today’s post will feature commentary on how those rookies will impact these two offenses, which should look different because one looks like a legitimate prospect and the other gets “mixed reviews” that are mostly mixed not because anyone seems super excited about the Cardinals’ third-round pick Carson Beck , but because some said he was a third-round talent and some said he was undraftable. What was mixed seemed to work only negatively. Today’s post will bring us to 18 teams covered. Links to the first 16: Packers and Panthers , including how team-building cues suggest confidence in Matthew Golden and Jonathon Brooks Chiefs and Texans , including why my workload confidence for David Montgomery is abnormal for a Dead Zone RB Cowboys and Saints , including some cold water on high-priced fantasy stars in fast-paced offenses (plus a longer intro into the series) Vikings and Bengals , including why I’m high on Kyler Murray in the best situation he’s played in Broncos and Bills , including how to think through tricky usage rotations for two good offenses Falcons and Colts , including long thoughts about the Colts’ new high-paid WR, Alec Pierce , and big opportunity in that passing game Buccaneers and Titans , including some harsh words about Mike McCoy he’s apparently read (see comments). Whoops. Rams and Seahawks , including how sustainable the production is for two elite No. 1 WRs with massive per-route profiles Let’s jump right in. Las Vegas Raiders Key Stat: Raiders — ranked last in NFL in plays, points, yards, first downs, rushing yards, yards per carry, and rushing TDs Relevant Signals Quote: “… it was the Ashton Jeanty eruption game. Jeanty looked fantastic, catching two touchdowns in close and scoring on a long TD run. On all three, it seemed like he should have been brought down before the end zone, and each time he showed the ability to get more after contact. And on all three, it wasn’t just falling forward, but outright shedding a tackler then walking into the end zone under his own power, unabated. It’s fascinating how he runs right into the contact with a confidence that he knows he’s very difficult to bring down. He’s not the same size or type of player as Derrick Henry, but there’s a similar vibe where if you bottle him up immediately, fine, but if you let him get going, he’s running downhill, and he knows he’s tough to tackle in space… but the Raiders unfortunately lost their best offensive lineman in this game, tackle Kolton Miller, and he’s e…