The Raiders' theme going into their first week of training camp is the air of uncertainty

It's that time of the year for football fans to have their hopes charged up before reality for most drains their batteries by late November, basically, short story long, we have now entered the realm of training camp. To repeat many journalists before me who cover or have covered the Raiders, the Raiders have begun camp with uncertainties at key positions, a coordinator turned head coach with no history of success at the position, and a franchise record breaking running back looking for a financial commitment from the team. Heard it before? I’m sure you have, nonetheless there are some positives and even with injuries and other distractions this team was competitive in the majority of their games last season.

An exterior concern for the Raiders is the success of the other Las Vegas sports franchises such as the Golden Knights and the Las Vegas Aces owned by Mark Davis. Las Vegas is also quietly being mentioned in the title town sentence, respectfully, not just for what they’ve accomplished as of now, but the potential of Las Vegas being a force nationally in professional sports. With the city expanding and expecting two more professional sports teams one NBA and the other being major league baseball, the Las Vegas Raiders should be feeling the pressure to match the momentum built by the Las Vegas Golden Knights and the Las Vegas Aces.

Head coach Josh McDaniels has yet to make a good impression on the fanbase. After the fallout with Derek Carr which led to his dismissal from the team and ultimately traded to the New Orleans Saints, along with Darren Waller’s departure, a portion of the fanbase has found it difficult to buy into this regime. Coach McDaniels is not alone when it comes to concern of the direction of the franchise, fans are also looking for Mark Davis to bring a championship not soon as possible, the nation wants Davis to deliver now.

This past draft has left a mix of opinions in regard to the players selected. Fans wanted a top qb prospect in the first round, what they got instead was a 6’6” 275lbs defensive end out of Texas Tech who Pro Football Writers of America voted in for first team All-American and All-Big 12 first team honoree by league coaches and associated press. My assessment of that decision, the Raiders prioritized the defensive side of the ball, one that has performed well at times but still fell short and ended up not even in the middle of the pack in defensive rankings.

With that said, Raiders did however draft a quarterback, yes it was in the 4th round. He hasn’t had an illustrious college career, but for now Aiden O’Connell is the Raiders future signal caller. Of course this left fans scratching their heads, but what else is new. Decisions like this are why Dave Ziegler’s name is brought up to go along with the other uncertainties surrounding this franchise.

Heading into day 2 of training camp and off to a good start is QB Jimmy Garoppolo and WR Davante Adams and that is definitely a positive sign. Raiders still have yet to complete a deal with RB Josh Jacobs, however bringing in CB Marcus Peters and DE Isaac Rochell adding depth and veteran presence, this defense once the injuries piled up, just didn't have enough talented bodies on the back end, as they were on the field often. Having your first-round pick Tyree Wilson and Byron Young start off on the injury list isn’t ideal, however it does give the staff more time to watch guys like TE Michael Mayer, CB Jakorian Bennett, Tre Tucker, and also the free agents brought in over the offseason.

Like I said it's the season for hope this time of year for football fans. What can Raider fans expect? The answer is quite simple, expect the unexpected. Raiders open up Allegiant Stadium for their pre-season home opener August 13th, I don’t expect to see much from the starters, in reality this game and the others moving forward will be an introduction of an unusual full rookie class to the fanbase.