Taking a look at the Raiders' initial 53-man roster that Tom Telesco and his staff has constructed, it's hard to ignore how much youth is prioritized.

There's no doubt that veteran leadership still plays a huge role with Davante Adams, Maxx Crosby and Kolton Miller a few to mention. Nevertheless, 10 of the 53 players to make the team are rookies – consisting of the team's eight 2024 draft picks and two UDFA signings. It's also worth noting the projected defensive starters are an average 24.9 years of age. As for the offense, the average is 26.4 years of age.

But for Telesco, that's not a problem. It's something he considers as "part of the evolution of NFL rosters."

"[A] lot of these guys aren't going to have big roles this year, but they may have a small role," Telesco said. "And who knows, as we get later into the year, when we get past Halloween and get toward Thanksgiving where they're not really rookies anymore and they may take on a bigger role.

"But it's really important, especially in a salary cap world, to have a good base of young players coming up through your system. ... It's just a starting point of where they are, not close to where the end point is, but this is where we are right now."

Looking at the roster in full, the Silver and Black are carrying seven linebackers and six wide receivers onto the roster, something that indicates that young players may have more opportunities to shine on special teams.

Telesco pinpointed players such as Amari Burney, Amari Gainer and Tyreik McAllister as guys who not only add value to their respective position groups, but on kick and punt return as well. The Raiders general manager also gave flowers to Antonio Pierce and the coaching staff for having an influx of younger players hit the field in the preseason finale, which aided in evaluating talent heading into Tuesday's cut day.

It's now imperative for the young men who made the roster to learn the in's and out's of performing at a high level from the veteran leaders around them.

"[A] lot of it's just listening and watching and seeing how professional football players handle themselves," Telesco said. "This is just completely different than college. These young guys, they don't have to worry about going to class anymore. This is what they do for a living and it's a business now. There's a lot of resources that these players have and there's a lot of things that we've talked to them about that they don't even know that they have. We have to make sure they know the resources they have, both on and off the field, to be a great player in this league."

Even with the release of the initial roster, there are still a lot of decisions to be made between now and September 8 when the Raiders kick off their first regular season game.

The lasting sentiment from Telesco regarding the roster: there's no place for complacency.

"I think for a lot of the guys, for the younger players that are fighting for a spot, I think they probably feel good today. But the nature of this business, it's a day-to-day league for all of us," he emphasized. "Just never know how long it's going to last. You can't really sit back, put your feet up and celebrate that. You've got to get ready for the next practice. In professional football, everybody's looking to take somebody's job at some point. So, right now, everybody's goal is now the opening game.

"It's no longer about training camp and preseason games, but it's getting ready for the Chargers."