It might’ve just been me, but it sure felt like it took a while for us to get into Week 1 mode, but alas, here we are and the Las Vegas Raiders are set to embark on the regular season with Klint Kubiak as their head coach.
The Silver & Black kick off its 2026 campaign by hosting the Miami Dolphins inside Allegiant Stadium this Sunday afternoon. And the battle between the AFC West and AFC East squads features a clash between two rookie head coaches — Kubiak and Jeff Hafley — in charge of rebuilding
squads.
Much like the Raiders did two offseason ago with cleaning house and hiring John Spytek in January of 2025 and two days later inking one-and-done head coach Pete Carroll (which ushered the Kubiak era the following offseason), the Dolphins pressure washed its front office and coaching staff with the additions of GM Jon-Eric Sullivan and Hafley (a pair of Green Bay Packers with the former serving as vice president of player personnel and the latter as defensive coordinator).
But as the case was in Las Vegas, Miami’s roster cupboard is far from barren.
The team has intriguing elite talent — even after the Dolphins did the customary roster purge that often accompanies a new primary personnel man and head coach. And Kubiak and Co. must account for them as running back De’Von Achane has the explosiveness, speed, and versatility to make even the best NFL defenses look foolish while linebacker Jordyn Brooks is a smart and hard-hitting linebacker that can ruin an NFL offense’s best laid plans.
Achane Attack
The 24-year-old running back produced a career-best 1,350 yards on 238 carries last season for Miami. Standing 5-foot-9 and 195 pounds, the third-round pick (84th overall) from the 2023 NFL Draft exceeded expectations coming out of Texas A&M. Adding four more end zone trips as a receiver, that 12-touchdown performance in 2025 set as new career-high mark.
He’s every bit as fast as the 4.32-second 40-yard dash time he clocked a the NFL Combine and the eight rushing touchdowns he had this past season tied the same number he had as a rookie in 2023.
By The Numbers
De’Von Achane, Running Back, 4th Year
- 2025: 16 games (all starts), 238 carries, 1,350 yards, 8 touchdowns; 85 targets, 67 receptions, 488 yards, 4 touchdowns
- Career: 44 games (36 starts), 544 carries, 3,057 yards, 22 touchdowns; 209 targets, 172 receptions, 1,277 yards, 13 touchdowns
The matchup between Achane and the Raiders’ defense puts the unsettled interior run defense under the microscope and spotlight in Week 1. Late-camp addition Folorunso Fatukasi (6-foot-4, 318 pounds, 31 years old) impressed Las Vegas to make the 53-man roster and his fellow defensive tackles — Thomas Booker IV, Adam Butler, Jonah Laulu, Tonka Hemingway, and JJ Pegues — will have their hands full (depending on how his active gameday). That group up front must control the line of scrimmage along with the A and B gaps to allow linebackers Nakobe Dean and Quay Walker to make plays alongside Maxx Crosby and Kwity Paye on the edges.
Achane is the type to truly test the Raiders defense as one mistake, one missed assignment can result in the tailback finding the end zone either from the interior or perimeter. And we’ll get to see if Crosby and Paye — players who can rack up tackles for loss defending the run — can get the job done.
Defenders charged with covering Achane out of the backfield as a receiver presents equal headaches and if he gets going, it can limit the Raiders defense from pass rush opportunities against Miami quarterback Malik Willis, who has the athleticism to scramble and run around, himself.
The Week 1 matchup entails seeing Leonard’s full gamut defense as opposed to the vanilla play calls he ran during preseason. And that should be intriguing to see how it’ll play out.
By The Brooks
The success of Kubiak’s offense is often predicated on the run and what a great test for the Raiders by battling against Brooks.
The centerpiece of Hafley’s defense, the 28-year-old Texas Tech product packs a mean wallop in his 6-foot and 240-pound frame. With solid size, speed (4.54-second 40-yard dash time in the 2020 NFL Combine), and exceptional football intelligence, Brooks is the epitome of a sideline-to-sideline linebacker that can blow up stretch or outside zones before the blocking develops. He’s also a downhill punisher who can eradicate gap and power runs, too, which earned him first-team NFL All Pro honors in 2025.
By The Numbers
Jordyn Brooks, Linebacker, 7th Year
- 2025: 17 games (all starts), 183 total tackles (99 solo), 13 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, 3 pass deflections, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery
- Career: 97 games (89 starts), 839 total tackles (494 solo), 47 tackles for loss, 13 sacks, 1 interception, 25 pass deflections, 3 forced fumbles, 6 fumble recoveries
Kubiak did well to bring in a fullback to provide the hardnosed lead blocker for his running backs — be it Ashton Jeanty or scintillating rookie Mike Washington Jr. — and the eventual meeting between Connor Heyward and Brooks will be one to watch. Brooks ability to diagnose run plays quickly alongside his size and speed allows the linebacker to truly blow up downhill blocking schemes.
Brooks has the instincts and movement skills to be a nuisance in the middle of the field as a cover man — although this is the weakest aspect of his game as Pro Football Reference charted him with allowing 66 receptions on 86 targets (76.7 completion percentage allowed) for 665 yards and three touchdowns last season.
With Kubiak’s penchant to run multiple tight end sets, testing Brooks’ coverage chop opens with both Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer and running backs coming out of the backfield is a must-do.
