How the Raiders Can Approach Free Agency and Draft

The Las Vegas Raiders and General Manager Dave Ziegler are preparing for the busiest time of year in the NFL, the time just ahead of the NFL Scouting Combine and the opening of free agency, which starts in only a month.

Ziegler and company will look for ways to improve the roster after a season that saw the Raiders fall well short of expectations of being a playoff team. They are moving on from franchise quarterback Derek Carr and will have to add talent to multiple positions all over the field.

The Raiders will be aggressive in free agency, and for good reason. They are fully in win-now mode after acquiring six-time Pro Bowler Davante Adams last offseason and hiring a head coach with a winning pedigree in Josh McDaniels. They also sit on over $48 million in cap space, the third-most in the league.

One of their biggest questions regarding free agency after moving on from Carr is whether or not they can get a deal done with star running back Josh Jacobs, who is coming off of a career season. It seems likely that Jacobs will be back in Las Vegas, so the Raiders are well-positioned on skill position players.

The Raiders must decide how to approach free agency and the NFL Draft. One philosophy they could follow is signing free agents for the immediate future, and drafting players who they feel can develop into starters in the future.

If they follow this method, signing offensive linemen now would be a good investment, as that position takes time to develop. They should also sign defensive backs, as that position is arguably the hardest to play in the league.

The likeliest path at quarterback is the Raiders signing a veteran starter and selecting a developmental project in the later rounds of the NFL Draft. This would be a good idea, especially if they are lucky enough to land Aaron Rodgers, allowing them to maximize their win-now window. Once Rodgers is done, the quarterback who sat behind him will be ready to take over.

If they make the right moves in free agency and draft well, the Raiders are not far from being a playoff team. They have stars on both sides of the ball and a coach who knows how to win. It all depends on how they re-tool the roster this offseason. The best way to do that is to sign players for the meantime and draft players who can develop into quality starters.

The NFL Scouting Combine is Feb. 28-March 6, 2023, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind. March 7, 2023, before 4 p.m. EST, is the club's deadline to designate Franchise or Transition Players.

March 13-15 is the free agent negotiation period. During that time, starting at 12 p.m. EDT on March 13 and ending at 3:59:59 p.m. EDT on March 15, clubs are permitted to contact and enter into contract negotiations with the certified agents of players who will become Unrestricted Free Agents upon the expiration of their 2022 Player Contracts at 4 p.m EDT on March 15.

The 2023 NFL Year and Free Agency period begins at 4 p.m. EDT on March 15. The Raiders are expected to be significant players in the free-agent market this season.

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