There are glaring needs on the defensive side of the ball on all three levels for the Raiders as they enter their first season in Las Vegas.
Watching Patrick Mahomes shred the San Francisco 49ers stout defense in the Super Bowl was downright scary, and while all the focus on the Las Vegas Raiders this season has revolved around Derek Carr, it shouldn’t. The biggest problem the Raiders face in terms of overcoming the Chiefs in the division is their defense, which has their issues on all three levels.
Last season, we saw growth on all three levels, but this defense is nowhere close to where it needs to be in order to cause havoc in the conference. Sure, the defensive line improved vastly, and they have some exciting young and talented players in the secondary, but this offseason will prove huge in terms of upgrading the entire group.
Defensive coordinator Paul Guenther came under fire for most of the 2019 season, and you can sure the front office is going to do everything they can to invest in the defense this offseason. The Raiders have done a nice job revamping the roster as a whole since Mike Mayock took over as general manager, but there is a lot of work to be done.
Let us dive into all three levels of the defense here.