With Kirk Cousins signing, Raiders stare into their organizational abyss

Grappling with reality typically isn't a strong suit for NFL teams that end up with the No. 1 draft pick . The Las Vegas Raiders, however, might outpace the pack when it comes to self-delusion in recent years.

How else can one explain the franchise's inescapable cycle of resets since moving to Sin City, with the team now led by its fifth different full-time coach since 2020? Each of the team's previous two hires – Antonio Pierce and Pete Carroll – represented desperate grabs for respectability, and both came up empty-handed. But owner Mark Davis and his football brain trust – led by general manager John Spytek, new coach Klint Kubiak and part-owner Tom Brady – appear to have learned from last season's botched attempt to claw their way out of the basement.

The Raiders have already demonstrated that they've trained their collective focus further toward the horizon. At this year's NFL scouting combine, Spytek expressed a preference to open the season with a veteran starter behind center – not merely for the immediate competitive advantage, but rather so as not to inhibit the development of the top pick. Kubiak echoed that sentiment this week at the league meetings.

"Ideally, you don't want (a rookie quarterback) to start from Day 1," Kubiak said Tuesday. "You'd love him to be able to learn behind somebody. That's in a perfect world.