Linebacker depth
The Raiders made their two biggest moves of the offseason on the defensive side of the ball by adding young stud linebackers Nick Kwiatkoski and Cory Littleton to man the middle of the field. They also brought in a few CFL stars in Derrick Moncrief and Nick Usher to round out the position or fill the practice squad though Usher was more of a edge rusher in Canada.
In the draft they selected Tanner Muse out of Clemson who played both safety and linebacker in college but will still need to learn the intricacies of the position at the NFL level. Shortly after the draft they brought in undrafted free agent Javin White who played LB at UNLV but projects more as a safety.
The question is if either Littleton or Kwiatkoski miss some time, who do the Raiders have on the roster that they can trust to step into their shoes? Nicholas Morrow is serviceable but has never started more than eight games in a season but comes into the summer as the starting Sam linebacker.
The same can also be said of Kwiatkoski who looked great as a starter in Chicago but has never been asked to start for a full season.
The Raiders will have to look to free agents such as Will Compton who played well off the street for them last season or will wait for teams with surplus at the position to make their preseason cuts. The position is miles ahead of where it was in 2019 but depth is still an issue.