Expectations aren’t particularly high for the Las Vegas Raiders this season. They were the worst team in the NFL last year, and it’s hard to fix the entire roster in one offseason.
The franchise seems to be headed in the right direction, but there are some glaring holes that will need to be addressed next offseason. After the season ended, defensive tackle was widely considered one of the team’s biggest needs. However, they didn’t do much to address it.
Seventh-round pick Brandon Cleveland was the only notable addition, but there’s no guarantee he’ll even make the roster. Tonka Hemingway is very promising, but he’s a fourth-round pick entering his second year.
Adam Butler is a solid veteran, but he’s 32 now. ESPN’s Mike Clay went through every team’s position group and ranked the best and the worst. Unfortunately for the Raiders, Clay believes they have the “shakiest” interior defensive line in the NFL.
“The good news is that the Raiders have some continuity up front, returning all three interior linemen who played at least 50% of their defensive snaps last season,” Clay wrote. “The bad news is that none of the three — Adam Butler, Jonah Laulu and Thomas Booker IV — were especially good last season, combining for 12 tackles for loss and 5.0 sacks. Free agent addition Benito Jones, 2025 fourth-rounder Tonka Hemingway and 2025 sixth-rounder JJ Pegues also struggled last season and will compete for snaps up front.”
Patrick Johns Starting to Make Name for Himself
With the interior of the defensive line looking shaky, the Raiders will really need their edge rushers to step up. Luckily, they have superstar defensive end Maxx Crosby, highly-paid free agent signee Kwity Paye and Malcolm Koonce.
One name who wasn’t on anybody’s radar was Patrick Johnson. The veteran former Philadelphia Eagles defensive end has been the Raiders’ highest-graded player in each of the first two preseason games, according to Pro Football Focus.
He had a strip sack in the second preseason game against the Houston Texans and is making a real case to make the roster.
“We were in pads three times this past week, building up to this joint practice and then going into this game,” Johnson said after the game, via Raiders.com. “I think everything that we did throughout the week really showed up tonight.”
Can Raiders Defense Be Good This Season?
The Raiders’ pass defense looks promising. The pass rusher has a chance to be solid, and the young secondary should only keep getting better as the season goes on. They looked shaky against the Arizona Cardinals, but played better against the Texans.
The linebackers should be greatly improved with Quay Walker and Nakobe Dean getting signed. The biggest concern has to be the interior of the defensive line. The run defense has looked very poor this offseason.
That’s going to be a big problem for the team. As noted earlier, the Raiders can’t fix everything in one offseason, so addressing defensive tackle will be a big priority next offseason in free agency and the draft.
Raiders Called Out for Having ‘Shakiest’ Position Group in NFL