The Raiders made a lot of progress this past season, finishing with a 7-9 record in third place of the AFC West. Not only did they improve in the record column, but in their overall play.

Under Jack Del Rio, this Raiders team seemed to have better chemistry on both sides of the ball. Offensively, under Derek Carr and company, the silver and black made huge strides. Defensively, there is some work to be done, but players stepped up when need be.

Here's a look at five areas the Raiders front office needs to address this offseason.

5. Re-sign Donald Penn

The Raiders offensive line still has a few tweaks to be made, but a priority should be retaining the left tackle.

The left side of the offensive line was strong for the Raiders throughout the season, and Penn was a huge part of that paired alongside Gabe Jackson.

Signing Penn was a risk, as he was cut by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and it was unknown how much he had left in the tank, but his time in the silver and black has help lead Carr to putting up impressive numbers as one of the better quarterbacks in the league.

Retaining Penn would be a low-key low-cost move by Reggie McKenzie, but one with high reward. Carr and company are familiar with Penn, and have a good chemistry as teammates working toward one common goal.

Re-signing Penn should be a priority for McKenzie as he plans out this offseason, and looks to continue to improve this offensive line.

4. Re-sign Marquette King

The Raiders have been home to two of the best punters to play the game in Hall of Famer Ray Guy and Shane Lechler, and although King isn't to the level of these two greats, he's young and learning with every opportunity.

Though inconsistent at times, King has delivered some great punts in crucial situations, which is a great weapon to have on special teams, when its fourth down and you're forced to punt.

King is averaging 46.1 yards per punt in his career, and he also had 40 kicks inside the 20 yard line this past season.

King is a spark on special teams, a firecracker on the sideline and important piece to the overall chemistry of this team.

3. Replace D.J. Hayden

The time has come to cut ties with the 2013 draft pick and move on. Hayden has been a disappointment on the field, and hasn't performed to that of a first round pick.

McKenzie rolled the dice back in 2013, and this selection didn't pay off. He's had his fair share of opportunities, but numbers are numbers and they state the brutal facts; Hayden is the most burned corner in the league. Hayden has been burned 68 percent of the time to lead the league.

He missed a lot of playing time this year after being benched by Del Rio, however due to their depleted secondary, Hayden ultimately had to play, resulting in many missed opportunities on defense as he allowed big plays for the opposing offense.

Hayden has been given several opportunities and time to heal after a few injuries these past few seasons, but simply isn’t performing. It’s time for the Raiders to cut their losses and move on.

2. Strengthen Offensive Line

The left side of the offensive line is pretty solid with Penn and Jackson, but the right side can use some fine tuning. Khalif Barnes and Austin Howard played right tackle and right guard for the Raiders this past season, and at times failed to make a block, putting Derek Carr in trouble.

If Reggie were to get a big name, legitimate RT or RG, that would greatly improve this offensive line and give Carr even more peace of mind under center.

Carr responds well to pressure, and can hold his own against a blitz, but there were times he just didn’t have time to do anything.

The greatness of a quarterback and offensive play is dependent on the performance of the O-line. This offense is up and coming with great talent in Carr, Amari Cooper, Michael Crabtree, and Latavius Murray, and the only real offensive improvement needed this offseason lies within the O-line.

1. Add Depth and Rebuild the Secondary

The Raiders defense allowed 4,140 passing yards, ranking them 26th in the league according to ESPN.

With Charles Woodson retiring, this secondary is going to need to be greatly revamped this offseason.

The Raiders had 14 interceptions last year, five of which belonged to Woodson.

A bright spot on this Raiders defense was David Amerson who started 12 games for the Raiders and had four interceptions. He had a few stand out performances this season with a few timely plays and key turnovers.

That being said, 26th in the league isn’t going to cut it. The Raiders are on the rise and making serious strides to be legitimate contenders next season, but defense has to improve, especially in the backfield. Woodson was a huge part of this defense and a leader not only in the secondary, but in the locker room. His presence is going to be missed, and the future Hall of Famer is irreplaceable, but McKenzie has to find someone suitable to take his position.

There are many big name corners and safeties on the free agent market, and McKenzie has money to spend, this should be his top priority heading into the offseason.

The Raiders more than doubled their win total from the 2014 season, and are sending four players to the Pro Bowl this year. After 13 years of wondering and hoping to see improvement, Raider Nation has finally seen just that. A bright future can be seen for this franchise and the building blocks are in place. This offseason will be about retaining key players and bringing in a few new guys to fill in the missing pieces of the puzzle.

This should be an interesting and intriguing offseason for the Raiders as they look to make a serious push in the West in 2016.