For the most part, preseason speculation is mostly useless. Almost every team is optimistic about the season, and many of the opinions and predictions you’ll read are based on meaningless scrimmages and film that is nearly a year old. So since these predictions are meaningless, why not have a little fun? Here’s what Madden 18 thinks the Oakland Raiders will do this year.
Oakland Raiders Madden 18 Predictions
Disclaimer: Obviously this is just for fun, and shouldn’t be taken too seriously.
Day One Starters
According to Madden, these are Oakland’s starters as of week one. Keep in mind, Madden hasn’t taken things like Sean Smith‘s arrest or any preseason struggles into account. As stated in the disclaimer above, take all of this with a grain of salt.
Offense
Quarterback- Derek Carr
Running Back- Marshawn Lynch
Fullback- Jamize Olawale
Wide Receiver- Amari Cooper
Wide Receiver- Michael Crabtree
Slot Receiver- Cordarrelle Patterson
Tight End- Jared Cook
Left Tackle- Donald Penn
Left Guard- Kelechi Osemele
Center- Rodney Hudson
Right Guard- Gabe Jackson
Right Tackle- Marshall Newhouse
Defense
Left End- Jihad Ward
Defensive Tackle- Eddie Vanderdoes
Right End- Mario Edwards Jr.
Outside Linebacker- Khalil Mack
Inside Linebacker- Cory James
Inside Linebacker- Ben Heeney
Outside Linebacker- Bruce Irvin (Cut Aldon Smith for reality’s sake)
Cornerback- Sean Smith
Cornerback- David Amerson
Nickle Cornerback- Gareon Conley
Free Safety- Reggie Nelson
Strong Safety- Karl Joseph
Kicker- Sebastian Janikowski
Punter- Marquette King
Kick Returner- Cordarrelle Patterson
Punt Returner- Cordarrelle Patterson
Third Down Back- Marshawn Lynch
Record
According to Madden 18, the Raiders are going 10-6 this year. Madden believes the Raiders will beat the Tennessee Titans, New York Jets, Denver Broncos twice, Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, Dallas Cowboys, and Los Angeles Chargers. A couple of interesting notes is that Madden has the Chiefs sweeping the Raiders yet again, and Oakland loses a heartbreaker to New England. The game is decided by one point, Derek Carr throws for 414 yards and three touchdowns, but the team fails to sack Tom Brady once.
In the wildcard round, Oakland hosted Pittsburgh, and lost 34-21 with Le’Veon Bell running all over the defense to the tune of 220 yards and two touchdowns. Ouch. Not a pretty look from the popular video game.
Significant Stats
Derek Carr has a monster year, throwing for 4,607 yards, 37 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions on his way to his first Offensive Player of the Year award. For all the haters, he averages 9.3 yards per attempt, and completes 66% of his passes.
This is where Madden is a little fluky, because while Marshawn Lynch averages 4.1 yards per carry and rushes for 1,237 yards, it’s Jalen Richard that scores all of the touchdowns. Lynch only found the endzone three times, while Richard scored 19 times. This is exactly why you shouldn’t take the video game too seriously.
The injury bug bit Amari Cooper, and he only caught 34 passes, albeit for 599 yards. Instead, it’s Michael Crabtree that leads the team with 85 catches for 975 yards and 12 touchdowns. Jared Cook impresses as well, catching 65 passes for 859 yards and eight touchdowns.
Defense is where the game gets really screwy. Khalil Mack only has five sacks, but Sean Smith has four interceptions and Ben Heeney leads the team in tackles with 114. If Khalil Mack has a year like that and Ben Heeney becomes a tackling machine, it might be time to start investing in spaceships, because it’s the end of the world.
The Last Word
At the end of the day, it’s just a fluff idea. Madden ratings are hilariously inaccurate, and the computer isn’t quite strong enough to measure all of the variables. Hopefully it’s wrong about the rushing, receiving, and defense, but I wouldn’t mind 10 wins and an Offensive Player of the Year award, would you?
