Las Vegas Raiders Should be Comfortable at DT in 2024

The Las Vegas Raiders have plenty of contributors at defensive tackle for the 2024 season.

The Las Vegas Raiders had one glaring issue with their defense ahead of the 2023 season.

They needed to find productive interior defensive linemen. Although the Raiders were getting plenty of production off the edge, they needed players to eat up blocks and pressure the quarterback just a little on the inside.

Some of the Raiders' free-agent additions produced impressively. Adam Butler and John Jenkins were great scheme fits for defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, and they proved that towards the end of the 2023 season. 

But the Raiders were looking for more. They wanted to find a true star defensive tackle to be a force in the middle, a force opposing coaches would stay up all night game planning for. 

That’s why they spent big money on former Miami Dolphin Christian Wilkins. One of the best defensive tackles in the league became a Raider last month and will be one for the next four seasons. 

Now, the Raiders have one of the scariest defensive lines in the NFL. Offensive tackles have to stop Maxx Crosby off the edge, a seemingly impossible task, and Malcolm Koonce on the other side, who put all his tools together in his third season. 

Interior offensive linemen now have to try to stop Wilkins in the middle, along with Jenkins and Butler next to him. The Raiders will certainly have the advantage in the trenches against almost every opponent they face. 

Graham got the most out of two journeymen defensive tackles, Butler and Jenkins, who have found a home in Las Vegas. They added star power in Wilkins for this season. Now, offensive lines won’t know who to double-team. 

Beyond the Raiders’ expected contributors, defensive end Tyree Wilson can play off the edge and inside. At the end of last season, he found success rushing on the interior. The Raiders also spent draft picks on defensive linemen in the 2023 NFL Draft, Byron Young and Nesta Jade Silvera. Those two are expected to fill in as quality depth pieces.

The Raiders have positions to address in the 2024 NFL Draft and possibly late free-agency additions, but defensive tackle is not one of them. Las Vegas has the ammunition up front to stop the run and get after the quarterback all along the defensive line.

The NFL Draft will be held in Detroit, Mich., on April 25-27, 2024. The Las Vegas Raiders currently have the No. 13 overall pick.

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