Silver Minings: Can Jimmy Garoppolo connect on long touchdowns?

The Las Vegas Raiders, of course, had their share of offensive problems in 2022, but one area they were strong in was longer touchdowns.

In a recent tweet by NFL analyst Warren Sharp, the Raiders were among the NFL leaders in offensive touchdowns on plays of 10 yards or longer in 2022. They had 24 such scores last season. It was tied with Dallas for the the fourth highest in the NFL. The Raiders were the only team in the top seven in this stat that didn’t make the playoffs.

Here is the complete list:

Of course, there is a big change on the Raiders’ offense as Jimmy Garoppolo has replaced Derek Carr (now in New Orleans) as the starting quarterback. Garoppolo is not known for having a strong arm. But he is good in mid-range passes and 10 yards fit that category. Plus, San Francisco was right behind the Raiders in this stat with 23 touchdowns. Garoppolo played in 11 of those games, so he contributed to the success.

I’d expect the Raiders to be in the same range in 2023 in this stat as they were last season.

In other Raiders’ news:

• Tight end prospects: The Raiders will likely draft a tight end and The Athletic has a look at some potential fits.
• Hooker in top 3? Yes, some NFL folks think Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker is a top-three quarterback in this draft class.
• Raiders need a cornerback and it’s a good year for it: Our SB Nation NFL page ranks a loaded cornerback draft class.