For the first time in a month, the Raiders are coming off a win. That alone would seem like a lot of players' stock would be up. But that's not necessarily the case, because even in the win, plenty of issues arose with the Raiders that could continue to bite them.
Stock up -- QB Kirk Cousins
After his best game of the season in a win over the Jets, Cousins is holding steady with the third most passing yards in the NFL and the second most TDs. He's on pace for his second best season ever at the age of 38. The discussion as to whether the Raiders should look to trade the veteran QB at the deadline hasn't died down. What's fascinating about it, though, is the better he plays, the more valuable he is in trade, but the more the Raiders feel like they should keep him. It's quite
a conundrum. Teams across the league have six days to offer the Raiders a deal they can't refuse or it's Kirko Chains for at least a while longer.
Stock down -- Connor Heyward tush push play
Klint Kubiak broke out this play early in the season. It's where fullback Connor Heyward takes the direct snap, usually on fourth-and-one, and they use the tush push to try and get him across the line for the first down. The problem is, it's been pretty much a disaster. When Tyler Linderbaum isn't getting flagged for a penalty (three times), it just hasn't worked that well. Certainly not as well as the good old fashioned QB sneak. They failed again on the Heyward Tush Push play Sunday, while converting a few plays with Kirk Cousins keeping it. Including a touchdown.
Stock up -- RS Dylan Laube
Laube was already leading the NFL in yards per kick return (31.1) coming into the game on Sunday. That cause the Jets to kick the ball out of bounds early in the game, giving the Raiders the ball at their own 40. Then Laube proved why they didn't want him touching it, when he fielded a kick at his own five-yard-line and was gone 95 yards for a touchdown. He also had a nice tackle on coverage teams. A nice side note is that the Long Island New York native did it all in front of 50 of his friends and family who were in attendance.
Stock down -- DC Rob Leonard
This defense has been playing some of the worst football I've seen. And I've covered a lot of bad Raiders defenses in the past 18 years. They have allowed at least 30 points in five straight games and are giving up an NFL-worst 5.1 yards per carry. Sunday they allowed Jets reserve running back Braelon Allen rush for seven yards per carry and put 121 yards on them in the first half alone. It would have been much worse had Allen not gotten injured. I think the luster has worn off of the nice story of gritty Raiders Dline coach turned DC.
Stock up -- RB Mike Washington
Klint Kubiak had been talking for several weeks about Washington earning more carries. And he finally gave them to him. The rookie had career highs in snaps, carries (25), and yards (83) as the Raiders give him a shot to be the team's workhorse back.
Stock down -- RB Ashton Jeanty
The 2025 sixth overall pick was relegated almost exclusively to receiver duties. And the results seemed to be much better both on the ground and through the air, so this change could stick. I mean, good that Jeanty had a couple nice plays again in the receiving game, but that's not the role he's supposed to be playing in the Raiders offense. Especially considering his draft position and the pay that comes with it.
Stock up -- OL Trey Zuhn
Another rookie who saw a big jump. The third round offensive lineman was tried at three positions in training camp so that, whenever the Raiders needed him, and at whatever position, he would be an option to step in. That position turned out to be right guard. And Zuhn played decent. He had a couple times that he was beaten, but for the most part he didn't look out of his depth. And that's all you can ask for at this point.
Stock down -- G Caleb Rogers, G Jackson Powers-Johnson
Rogers was the man who was benched to open the door for Zuhn to get his first start. Rogers played so terribly against the Rams in Week 7 that he got just two starts and was out. The man Rogers was replacing was Jackson Powers-Johnson who had started four games early in the season before getting benched. And the fact that even after Rogers proved he was not up to the task, the team didn't turn back to JPJ is a serious indictment on him and what the Raiders think of his play. I had JPJ as a trade candidate, but at this point, it's hard to say if the Raiders could get any real value for him.
This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: Raiders stock watch: Who's up, who's down heading into Week 9
