Saints vs Raiders: Who has the edge at each position?

After a commanding Week 1 performance, the Saints are going to play in their first prime time game of the year against the Oakland Raiders on Monday night.

The New Orleans Saints get a rare opportunity this week. On Monday night, Las Vegas will debut their new stadium for the first time ever against the Saints. Here is how they stack up position by position with each other for this Week 2 showdown.

Quarterback: NO

It is hard to say here that a future Hall of Fame quarterback is not better than Derek Carr. Brees has an excellent Week 1 against the Tampa Bay defense that should be similar to the Raiders defense. I expect Brees to have another big game; hopefully with more yards this time around.

Running Back: NO

This one is a lot closer than the quarterback. Josh Jacobs is a monster, but so is Alvin Kamara. I think this comes down more to the duo of Kamara and Murray vs Jacobs. Also taking into account the opposing defensive lines, I’m taking the Saints duo.

Wide Receiver: NO

Even with Michael Thomas projected to miss multiple weeks, I’m still taking the Saints here. I would rather have Emmanuel Sanders and Tre’Quan Smith over two rookies still figuring it out — Henry Ruggs and Bryan Edwards. Hunter Renfrow is a second-year receiver as well.

Tight End: LV

Darren Waller has slowly inched his name into the conversation with George Kittle and Travis Kelce. He is a top-five tight end and rightfully considered one. I love Jared Cook, but Waller is just the better player here.

Offensive Line: NO

There is no denying that, when healthy, the Saints have one of the best offensive lines in the NFL. If Ruiz is back, then I am taking the Saints without even considering it; if he is not, I would probably still take New Orleans, but the conversation would be there.

Defensive Line: NO

The Saints got to the quarterback seven times on Sunday and sacked him three times. The Raiders on the other hand got to the quarterback three times and sacked him once. With the strength of the offensive lines opposing them, the Saints line will do better.

Linebackers: LV

New Orleans’ linebackers struggled last week against the Buccaneers. Only two of them started over 30% of the defensive snaps. That is partly because of the packages called, but also because of the strength of the position.

Cornerback: NO

Like Tampa Bay, the Raiders are starting a rookie in the cornerback position — Damon Arnette. Even though, the Saints just have a great set of cornerbacks in Marshon Lattimore and Janoris Jenkins; it’s hard to beat them.

Safety: NO

The Saints safeties and secondary as a whole showed out in Week 1. Janoris Jenkins had a fantastic interception that he returned 36 yards for a touchdown. If they did that to Brady, imagine what they are going to do to Derek Carr.

Special Teams: NO

Wil Lutz, outside of Harrison Butker and Justin Tucker, is the best kicker in football, and Thomas Morestead respectively at punter. There are not many special team units that can compare to how good the Saints are.