The first full week of NFL preseason action is here. New Raiders head coach and quarterback, Pete Carroll and Geno Smith, will be facing their former team, the Seattle Seahawks. Both teams missed out on the playoffs last season and made sweeping changes to try to correct that this season. This will be a great opportunity to see some exciting young players and get a glimpse at how some camp battles are playing out as these teams get their season started.
The Raiders are 4.5-point road favorites in this game on DraftKings Sportsbook. Las Vegas is a -230 favorite on the moneyline, and the total is set at 37.5 points. Here’s a preview, prediction and pick for the Raiders-Seahawks game.
Seahawks Preview
This is a new look Seahawks team heading into 2025. After his standout season in Minnesota, the Seahawks brought in Sam Darnold to be their starting quarterback. They traded Geno Smith to the Raiders and DK Metcalf to the Steelers. The two faces of their offense over the last several seasons are in new places, and it will now be Darnold and Jaxon Smith-Njigba leading the offense. However, we are unlikely to see either of those players in this game. Seahawks coach Mike MacDonald announced that most of the starters will not play in Thursday night’s game.
Rookies Grey Zabel (LG), Nick Emmanwori (S) and Elijah Arroyo (TE), could all be starters, but will still likely get some preseason reps. Rookie quarterback Jalen Milroe and Drew Lock will likely share snaps under center. Lock returned to the Seahawks, where he played two seasons, after a year with the Giants. Meanwhile, Milroe is an intriguing prospect who is incredibly talented but made too many mistakes in college. Typically, that means he will have an even tougher time in the NFL, but Milroe has impressed in camp so far. With a new offensive coordinator and quarterback, skill position players will look earn playing time in Seattle.
Raiders Preview
It is a brand new era of Raiders football on every level. In December 2024, they sold a stake of the team to an investor group that includes Tom Brady. They hired Carroll to be their head coach, brought in Smith to be their quarterback, hired Chip Kelly to be their offensive coordinator and made a splash with Ashton Jeanty in the first round. Between Carroll, Smith, Kelly, Jeanty and Brock Bowers, this could be an exciting offense to watch on a weekly basis. The roster likely still has some work to do before they can become a playoff team, but the team should be much improved from last season.
Jeanty will be the top player to watch for the Raiders. He was a sensation at Boise State, finishing second in the Heisman race last season. He is the highest drafted running back since Saquon Barkley, so the expectations are enormous. The Raiders also have three rookie receivers, Jack Bech, Dont’e Thornton Jr. and Tommy Mellott, who should get some action in this game and have a chance to be real contributors in the offense. At quarterback, it is unclear if Smith will get any playing time, but if he does, it will likely be minimal. That means most of the snaps will go to last year’s starter, Aidan O’Connell, and rookie Cam Miller. If the starters do play a couple drives, it will be exciting to see what the offense looks like.
Best Bet
My best bet for this game over 19.5 first half points. Since Carroll didn’t rule Smith out, I expect him to get at least one drive. That might be all Smith needs to get a touchdown on the board, especially if there are mostly backups on the Seattle defense. Even once Smith leaves the game, O’Connell has proven to be competent at the NFL level and should perform well with the young Las Vegas receivers.
On the other sideline, even if Darnold doesn’t play, the Seahawks should be fine on offense. Milroe has played well at training camp and while he can make some mistakes, he is also capable of magical plays with his legs and arm. If Milroe leaves the game in the first half, Lock has a lot of NFL experience and should feel comfortable in this setting.
