{"id":649007,"date":"2026-01-02T21:07:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T21:07:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/649007\/"},"modified":"2026-01-02T21:07:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T21:07:13","slug":"las-vegas-raiders-preview-5-players-should-get-playing-time-vs-kansas-city-chiefs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/649007\/","title":{"rendered":"Las Vegas Raiders preview: 5 players should get playing time vs Kansas City Chiefs"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Las Vegas Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs<\/a> have nothing to play for and both teams are expected to start backup quarterbacks<\/a> in Week 18<\/a>. So, instead of highlighting key matchups for the Raiders, this week\u2019s game preview focuses on five young players who should get more playing time in the season finale.<\/p>\n

In full disclosure, rookies Caleb Rogers, Tonka Hemingway and JJ Pegues were not included because they\u2019ve been getting regular playing time over the last month.<\/p>\n

It was understandable why Grant didn\u2019t play in the first half and maybe even the first three months of the season. He relied on being bigger, stronger and more athletic than opposing defensive linemen at the FCS level, and his technique needed a lot of work coming out of college. However, Stone Forsythe and DJ Glaze have allowed the most and second-most sacks among offensive tackles this season with 11 and 10, respectively, per Pro Football Focus<\/a>. Also, those two haven\u2019t been much better in the run game, owning sub-par PFF run blocking grades.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the William & Mary product has received some run over the last three weeks, recording eight snaps as an extra tight end and six at left tackle<\/a> in garbage time. Obviously, that\u2019s a small sample size, but he\u2019s shown promise and, more importantly, improved technique on the limited opportunities. Grant\u2019s footwork has been much better than it was in college by maintaining a wide base and not crossing his feet over or heel clicking in pass protection, while also showing improved pad level.<\/p>\n

In other words, the time is now for the rookie to get a bigger opportunity and show what he can do heading into the offseason.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m cheating a bit here by listing two players under one subhead, but the logic is the same. Devin White and Elandon Roberts have been Las Vegas\u2019 primary linebackers all season. However, White (39.2<\/a>) owns the fourth-worst PFF grade at the position and Roberts (53.1) ranks 72nd out of 94 qualifiers (minimum 218 snaps). Additionally, both are on one-year contracts and shouldn\u2019t be brought back in the offseason. So, it would be smart to give Tommy Eichenberg and Cody Lindenberg bigger opportunities to prove themselves.<\/p>\n

Eichenberg has seen the field the most out of all the players listed here, recording 71 defensive snaps on the season. Also, he\u2019s been part of the Raiders\u2019 linebacker rotation for about a month but still hasn\u2019t received 15 or more snaps in a game this year. Especially since he\u2019s been one of the club\u2019s best special teamers, leading the team with 18 total tackles on special teams and owning the third-best ST grade (73.5<\/a>), it\u2019s time to reward the 2024 fifth-round pick with more reps on defense.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Lindenberg hasn\u2019t recorded a snap defensively. But, like Eichenberg, the rookie has been a good specialist with eight tackles and a team-leading 79.5 mark<\/a> in that department. Also like Eichenberg, it\u2019s time to reward the Minnesota product and see what he can do on the second level of the defense.<\/p>\n

\"Greedy<\/a><\/p>\n

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – DECEMBER 28: Greedy Vance #41 of the Las Vegas Raiders tackles Tyrone Tracy Jr. #29 of the New York Giants during the second quarter of the game at Allegiant Stadium on December 28, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ian Maule\/Getty Images) Getty Images<\/p>\n

It seems like this is already in the works since Vance doubled his snap count last week against the New York Giants, receiving 35 defensive snaps<\/a> to bump his figure up to 70 for the campaign. That trend needs to continue in the season finale.<\/p>\n

The undrafted free agent did struggle in coverage during Week 17, allowing three completions on four targets for 30 yards<\/a>. However, a lot of his issues were minor and can be chalked up to a lack of experience: not playing with the correct leverage or trusting his leverage, and getting caught trying to overplay or anticipate routes rather than reacting to them. In other words, it wasn\u2019t as if he looked overmatched physically or athletically out there.<\/p>\n

Additionally, Vance had a handful of intriguing reps against the run and as a blitzer, two other elements of the game that are important for nickelbacks. Seeing as Las Vegas should be looking for someone who can cover the slot this offseason, the organization might as well take advantage of one more opportunity to see what the USC product can bring to the table.<\/p>\n

After receiving over 550 defensive snaps<\/a> as a rookie last year, it\u2019s surprising that Richardson hasn\u2019t played a down defensively in 2025. Granted, the Raiders do have another young cornerback in third-round pick Darien Porter, who also needs as many reps as possible, and free-agent signing Eric Stokes has been solid this season. However, Stokes is on a one-year deal and has played in 15 games to show the front office what he can bring to the team.<\/p>\n

In a contest that means nothing and is actually more beneficial for Las Vegas to lose, there\u2019s no reason not to give the second-year pro a bigger opportunity. Plus, in the same vein as The Bergs and Dylan Laube, Richardson has been a key special teamer this year and deserves to get rewarded.<\/p>\n

As mentioned above, Laube has contributed as a specialist this year. His primary duties have been as a kick returner, where he\u2019s logged 835 yards, which ranks 10th in the NFL, per PFF<\/a>. However, the 2024 sixth-round pick only has 10 offensive touches<\/a> on the campaign. The New Hampshire product was drafted to be a potential third-down back, which the Raiders should be in the market for this offseason.<\/p>\n

Considering the team\u2019s other options behind Ashton Jeanty are impending free agents Raheem Mostert and Zamir White, this Sunday is a great opportunity to see how the backfield combination of Jeanty and Laube can function.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Las Vegas Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs have nothing to play for and both teams are expected…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":649008,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2065],"tags":[7,1744,393,77335,8204,2455,2454,6,525],"class_list":{"0":"post-649007","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-las-vegas-raiders","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-las-vegas","10":"tag-las-vegas-raiders","11":"tag-las-vegas-raiders-analysis","12":"tag-las-vegas-raiders-game-information","13":"tag-lasvegas","14":"tag-lasvegasraiders","15":"tag-nfl","16":"tag-raiders"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115827549489763713","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/649007","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=649007"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/649007\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/649008"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=649007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=649007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=649007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}