Oakland Raiders: 5 players with the most to prove in 2019

The Oakland Raiders have demonstrably improved their roster this offseason via free agency and the draft, but there are still some players who have much to prove.

For the Oakland Raiders, this could be one of the more interesting training camps they’ve had in quite a while. Not only are there multiple storylines stemming from the various personalities that now occupy spots on the roster, but there is also the spectacle of Hard Knocks to contend with.

And you better believe Hard Knocks is going to be must-see TV this August.

With a plethora of new faces they’ve added through free agency and the draft, the Raiders have rebuilt some position groups from the ground up. They’ve addressed some glaring needs on this roster and have seemingly improved in a lot of key spots.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t still holes and spots that continue to need improving. Of course there are. They could still use more viable pass rushers and the secondary is still a big question mark — among other issues.

There is still a lot of work to be done and other bodies that need to be brought in to flesh out the roster and plug some of the holes that continue to exist.

But that’s taking a macro look at things.

On a micro level, there are a lot of individual players who are going to have to up their game. If the Raiders hope to avoid yet another disappointingly disastrous campaign this year, individual players are going to have to improve to help the team improve overall.

No, the schedule makers didn’t do the Raiders any favors by saddling them with the league’s toughest strength of schedule. But this roster is talented. And if these players can step up their game and play to the level they’re capable of, this is a team that can compete.

Though most of the “experts” and media talking heads don’t seem to think much of them, this is actually a team that can win some games. But the first thing this team is going to need to do is to prove itself. For that to happen, the individual players will need to prove themselves as well.

On some level, each and every player on the roster will need to prove themselves but there are some who need to prove themselves more than most.

Let’s take a look at just a few of them.

Karl Joseph

After being a first-round draft pick in 2016, Karl Joseph hasn’t quite lived up to the billing he carried in from West Virginia. After an up and down first couple of seasons — and then a slow start to last year — Joseph played some of the best football of his young career down the stretch in 2018.

Still, it wasn’t enough for the Raiders to pick up Joseph’s fifth-year option. Add to that, the team took another hard-hitting safety — Johnathan Abram — in this year’s draft, and Joseph’s future in the silver and black appears to be very much up in the air at this point.

For his part, Joseph says he feels more comfortable in defensive coordinator Paul Guenther’s system and is free of the injuries that nagged him in the early part of last year. He also says he’s committed to being a Raider for life and has gone out with the intention of earning a second contract with the Raiders.

Now, entering his fourth season, Joseph is stepping up and becoming a leader on the defensive side of the ball. And rather than be bitter about the team taking Abram — this after he was put up on the trade block last year — Joseph has gone out of his way to befriend and mentor the Mississippi State product.

The early reviews on Joseph this year have all been positive. By all accounts, Joseph seems to be comfortable in Guenther’s system and has gone about his business in a professional way. He’s saying and doing all the right things.

He and Abram could form a potent one-two punch in the defensive backfield — but he’s going to have to prove himself first.