Ranking the Raiders' Top 30 2026 Players: No. 12

The Las Vegas Raiders are on the road to rebuilding a roster that has suffered from years of the wrong moves and signings. Las Vegas' 3-14 campaign last season only heightened the Raiders' front office's desire to improve its roster as much as possible this offseason.

Raiders general manager John Spytek got right to work, making the necessary moves for Las Vegas heading into the offseason. The Raiders added a new wave of talent in free agency and the NFL Draft. Moving forward, that wave of talent will be critical to their efforts to improve.

The Raiders' front office has done all it can to improve its roster this offseason. Now, Las Vegas looks to put all of those new pieces together in training camp at the end of the month. The Raiders hope a few productive next few weeks will help them turn over a new leaf.

Las Vegas has taken care of the first step by improving its coaching staff and roster this offseason. The second step will require much more work in the field over the next few weeks, as training camp is just around the corner.

Over the next few weeks, we will rank the top 30 players on the Raiders' roster. There will be no rookies on this list, as it is impossible to make the list with zero regular-season snaps.

Ranking the Raiders' Top 30 2026 Players: No. 12 IDL Adam Butler

As the Raiders look to implement new coaches, players, and schemes, a large part of their hopes for success will hinge on their ability to mesh the new pieces with talent already on the roster. Las Vegas is in the middle of overhauling its roster. They need all the dependable players they can get.

Over the past few seasons, the Raiders have not had many players who fit into that category. However, veteran defensive lineman Adam Butler has been one of those players. Las Vegas has experienced plenty of roster turnover recently, yet Butler has remained.

Butler's job and performance are far from flashy, but are effective. Butler has been a stout presence for the Raiders in the middle of a deep rotation of defensive linemen. Butler has quietly been a force in the middle of Las Vegas' defensive line since he arrived.

The Raiders are transitioning to a new base defense under defensive coordinator Rob Leonard, who was recently promoted to the role. After overseeing Las Vegas' defensive line for the past three seasons. He is a veteran presence the Raiders will depend on to help lead the way this season.

“I think we have a really good group of older guys, and a mixture of young guys and vets, and anytime you can get the guys that have done it and have been in the fire to help the young guys, I think that's extremely valuable. So, not only myself, but all my teammates. We have guys like Nakobe Dean and Quay Walker that have played a lot of football,” Crosby said earlier this offseason.

“You got guys across the board; Taron Johnson being here, being able to teach a guy like Trey [Treydan] Stukes and pass down that knowledge is extremely important. And then you have Kirk [Cousins] with Fernando [Mendoza], and it goes on and on. So, I think it's a really good mixture, and it's really important and valuable not just being on the field but also being in the film room and being able to pass that knowledge down."

Las Vegas' defensive line is arguably the deepest position group on the roster. Butler is a major part of that, along with Crosby and several others. Football games are won and lost along the line of scrimmage, and Butler gives the Raiders a chance along the interior.

The Raiders will rely heavily on the new additions this offseason, but their success will largely hinge on the team's veterans doing their jobs at a high level. Earlier this offseason, Leonard explained his thoughts on what his new unit would be as they enter training camp.

"I'm a little crazy. I would like them to play fast, even at the cost of a mental error. I don't like to see hesitation on the field, so even if you're unsure, make a decision and go, and let us coach. Let us do our job, but I don't want any slow blinkers out there. So, still going into how we play box, how we attack the ball, how we run to the ball,” Leonard said.

“Can't take it away if you don't run to the ball, like, and just staying with that mindset and instilling confidence in them that they can play that way, that they have the freedom from me. Like, I don't care about a bust over that. It's not the difference of winning and losing to me.”

Butler is not the loudest guy in the room by any means; in fact, it is the opposite. Butler does not say much verbally. However, his play and production speak for themselves. Butler is a dependable player who does his job more times than not, which is what the Raiders need.

Other positions will get more attention, and much of what offensive and defensive linemen do goes unnoticed. Still, Butler's production has been hard to ignore. Las Vegas needs as many solid defensive linemen as possible, especially in the middle of the line.

Butler is at the top of the list in terms of dependable defensive linemen the Raiders have on the roster right now. As they enter the 2026 season and beyond, much of what they want to do on defense will be under the assumption that Butler and others have solidified the interior of the defensive line.

The veteran lineman has continued to be just what the Raiders need in the middle, as they ramp up their efforts to completely revamp their roster. Las Vegas needs Butler to continue doing what he has been doing over the past couple of seasons.

Add us as a preferred source on Google