Linebacker Cory Littleton the Raiders' Biggest Addition?

It’s no secret that many of the Raiders’ problems on defense last season can be traced to the linebacker position, which is the primary reason they signed Cory Littleton as a free agent during the offseason.

The 6-3, 228-pound Littleton, who signed a three-year, $35.25 million contract with the Silver and Black in March, joined the Los Angeles Rams as an undrafted free agent out of Washington in 2015.

Although he played mostly special teams in his first two seasons, Littleton played well when he got his chances to play on defense, then became a full-time starter in 2018—when he was selected to the Pro Bowl and named second-team All-Pro.

“We think he can do it all,” Raiders coach Jon Gruden said. “He’s been a three-down linebacker on a good team, a Super Bowl team. He’s got sideline-to-sideline ability. He’s got cover ability. He’s what we’re looking for. We just have to put it all together, put some time on task, teach him our defense, and get him comfortable like he was in L.A.”

Littleton will step right into the Raiders defense, and not only because he has impressive numbers in his four-year career—315 total tackles, 8.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and four recoveries, six interceptions and 26 pass breakups He returned one of those picks 48-yards for a touchdown.

When looking around for a new home for his talents, he chose the Raiders. And despite their struggles on defense last season, in his short time in Las Vegas, Littleton has seen real promise in the Raiders on the defensive side of the ball.

“To be honest, I don’t think there’s a lot of things that need to change with what’s already here,” said Littleton, who helped the Rams reach Super Bowl LII, where they lost to the New England Patriots, 13-3.

“At the end of the day, it just comes down to a want-to. And me coming here, I see the same type of hunger that we had when we were in L.A. coming off of losing seasons and wanting to be better because you know that you can. And everybody here is motivated to do just that.”

In the Super Bowl, Littleton stood out in defeat by recording 10 tackles, two passes defended, and an interception.

With his ability to play sideline-to-sideline, rush the quarterback, stop the run and cover receivers downfield out of the backfield, Littleton will remain on the field no matter what defense the Raiders are playing.

“He can cover (a lot of) ground in a very short amount of time,” defensive coordinator Paul Guenther said. “He’s picking up the run fits in our defense, which is a little bit different structurally than where he came from. He’s done a really good job for us in everything we’re doing; both in base and the sub defense.”

Littleton played defensive end at Washington and admits it wasn’t an easy transition to linebacker when he joined the Rams.

But that versatility is one of the traits that have made him a great pro.

“It’s a big transition,” Littleton said. “Basically, my mindset coming into the league was find where my value was. Before playing in college, my value was being a defensive end—pass rusher mostly. Coming into the league, I knew there was going to have to be some type of transition and me having to play linebacker. So, all the aspects that came with linebacker I just try to be the best one I can be.

“ … (And) learning a new defense (with the Raiders) isn’t always easy, especially harder when you can’t get to practice it all the time, so being here right now this is exactly what we need, myself included. I think we are all doing a very good job right now.”

And Littleton is playing a big role.

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