Raiders' Revamp of Several Position Groups Just Getting Started

After making several quality additions to their roster, the Las Vegas Raiders' improvements have been well noted. Las Vegas entered the offseason with more questions than most teams in the league, but also more resources to answer them. They did so in a major way.

Raiders General Manager John Spytek enters his second season at the helm. Many of the Raiders' moves since he took over have begun the roster overhaul. Still, Las Vegas has certain position groups that will take much longer than this offseason to fully rebuild.

Defensive End/Edge Rusher

Las Vegas has shown special attention to its group of defensive ends this offseason, adding veteran Kwity Paye and Keyron Crawford. They also retained Malcolm Koonce and Maxx Crosby. Those four are a solid group of defensive ends to have. However, they lack depth at the position in the long term.

Long-term may not seem like a big deal, but many of the Raiders' moves have been with the long term in mind. Contractually, Crawford, Crosby, and Paye are locked in for years. Koonce is not. However, even aside from contractually, an injury to any of those four and depth quickly becomes an issue.

Over the remainder of this offseason and into next offseason, the Raiders will likely do their best to keep a long rotation of defensive ends on the roster, even if that means stashing some on the practice squad.

Defensive Backfield

Las Vegas' defensive backfield has been one of the team's most significant issues for several seasons. So much so that even after adding a handful of defensive backs this offseason, it is no secret that they still need more help. Las Vegas added Eric Stokes and Darien Porter last offseason.

Las Vegas re-signed Stokes this offseason and added an additional five defensive backs. They expect Porter to take the next step in his development. Still, they must continue adding cornerbacks to their roster to develop. They do not need star players in the defensive backfield.

Las Vegas simply needs a deep rotation of cornerbacks who are serviceable, at the very least. Continuing to find quality cornerbacks will be a theme throughout Spytek's tenure with the team, as they will need as many as possible in the AFC West.

Offensive Guard and Tackle

Considering their investments along the offensive line earlier this offseason, and in prior offseasons, a lot of attention will be paid to the unit during Organized Team Activities and beyond. This is especially true because of how bad the offensive line was last season.

Las Vegas has talented but young players along the offensive line. They must soon begin preparing for life after Kolton Miller, but they have two players entering their third season as starters, and another entering his second season, who may start. Tyler Linderbaum is entering his fifth season.

Between the talent they added along the offensive line this offseason, and the hiring of Rick Dennsion as their offensive line coach, Las Vegas should be better up front. Yet, their biggest issue along the offensive line remains. The Raiders lack quality depth on the offensive line.

After Las Vegas added starters Jackson Powers-Johnson, DJ Glaze, and Caleb Rogers in recent drafts, Spytek and the Raiders' front office have begun building the unit's depth. Las Vegas drafted Trey Zuhn, who has experience playing all five positions along the offensive line.

Just like the Raiders took multiple drafts to find multiple starting offensive linemen, they will continue to look for talented offensive linemen to revamp their reserves. Zuhn and Spencer Burford were moves that addressed Las Vegas' second-string offensive linemen.

As the Raiders move forward, expect their front office to continue prioritizing the position group.

Add us as a preferred source on Google