Las Vegas Raiders 2026 Special Teams Wildcards

The Las Vegas Raiders are set to start training camp within the next month, and as they gear up for an interesting 2026 season, a few players and/or position groups can really make or break the season. The Raiders added a plethora of talent over the last off-season, with the Raiders likely to only return starters at left & right tackle, tight end, runningback, and one wide receiver on offense. Defensively, they likely return 3 starers on the defensive line, one at safety, one at corner, and none at linebacker. Needless, to say the Raiders are turning over the roster with talent, and for a roster that has been void of young talent in previous years, that was crucial. Additionally, they see three or four of their special teams playmakers likely change hands with Daniel Carlson and Jacob Bobenmoyer out, while new kick and punt returners should take the helm as well.

I already broke down the defense, and that article may be live when you are reading this, and if not it will be soon. I’ve also already broke down the offense.

The Kicker

• The Raiders parted ways with Daniel Carlson after 8 seasons, and Carlson saw his FG rate fall steadily since 2020 going from 94.3% to 81.5% in 2025. Additionally, his abilities to hit from 50+ also fell down the board competing just 5 of 8 in 2025 after 8 of 11 in 2024, and 11 of 13 in 2022. The Raiders bring in two options, with veteran Matt Gay looking to rebound his career under DeCamillis, and rookie Kansei Matsuzawa dubbed the “Tokyo Toe, and Special-K”. Gay converted 17 of his 23 attempts (74%) in 2025 though he was 4/4 in 2 games with the 49ers. He’s struggled to regain his form from 2021-2022 where he 2as a Pro Bowler converting 60/64 field goals including 12/14 from 50+. Those two seasons came under new Raiders special teams coordinator, Joe DeCamillis.
  
  As for Matsuzawa, the 2025 consensus All-American went 39/45 in his Hawaii career and another 72/72 on his PAT’s. Matsuzawa is relatively new to kicking, having only done so for 5 years now, and he’s not been tested from 50+ routinely which will be a big test in the NFL. Matsuzawa has the leg, and he’s shown elite accuracy, but also kicking in the NFL comes with it’s own challenges. The Raiders have seen their ability, and confidence, to hit field goals dip the last two seasons which has impacted not just their scores, record, but also playcalling. Las Vegas needs to be consistent at kicker to help ease pressure on the offense, and open up Klint Kubiak’s playbook.

Dareke Young

• Dareke Young comes to Las Vegas following Klint Kubiak, and there’s a plethora of jobs for him to take on in Las Vegas. The 6’2, 230 receiver has just 72 receiving yards in his career, but he may have a chance to take the “X” role for Klint Kubiak if he can stay consistent which has a chance to lead to 400-600 yards. Additionally, Young’s best impact comes on special teams. He’s been a proven gunner with a career 24 tackles and 3 FF including 2 FR, and 4 tackles in the playoffs. Young can provide as a kick returner with 322 yards on 10 attempts in 2025, and he may take that role as well. He’ll impact the Raiders on special teams, but his ability to become a dynamic, or higher end, kick returner could prove pivotal for the Raiders special teams that has lacked juice on kick returns.

Tommy Eichenberg, Segun Olubi, & Cody Lindenberg

• Similar to Young, Olubi, Eichenberg and Lindenberg may see big roles for the Raiders defense in reserve linebacker roles or sub packages. That said, all three are special teams standouts. Olubi has a career 4 blocked punts and kicks, with a special teams TD, 2 FF, 3 FR, and 34 tackles. Additionally, Olubi has just a 4.7% missed tackle rate on special teams in his career. Lindenberg and Eichenberg combined for 34 special teams tackles, and a FF in 2025 and the two of them can be focal points of the teams unit again in 2026. The Raiders special teams ranked exceptionally low in 2025, at one point being on a historically bad trajectory. Despite that, there was some standouts and if the Raiders depth linebackers can combine to be high end playmakers again on special teams, while forcing turnovers, blocked kicks, and possible touchdowns they are in a way better spot to change the game.

Joe DeCamillis

• Similar to the other two iterations of this, the Raiders unit can only go as far as their play caller and head man will let them. DeCamillis has preached versatility, aggression, and fundamentals on special teams his whole career and that should remain the same mentality in Las Vegas. His units have ranked inside the top 15 for most of his NFL career, including from 2015-2022 ranking top 6 in 5 of those seasons, though he also ranked in the bottom 5 in two of them as well. DeCamillis saw a ton of improvements on his units kick returns last season with the South Carolina Gamecocks. The Raiders had a lot of inconsistences in their units the last few seasons, and at worst DeCamillis should improve them to league average at worst.