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3 bold predictions for the Las Vegas Raiders defense in 2020

By Khaled Abdallah

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 06: Maxx Crosby of Oakland Raiders celebrates during the game between Chicago Bears and Oakland Raiders at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on October 06, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 06: Maxx Crosby of Oakland Raiders celebrates during the game between Chicago Bears and Oakland Raiders at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on October 06, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images) /
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Raiders DE Maxx Crosby (Photo by Robert Reiners/Getty Images)
Raiders DE Maxx Crosby (Photo by Robert Reiners/Getty Images) /

3 bold predictions for the Las Vegas Raiders defense in 2020

Raiders defense sends 3 players to Pro Bowl

It has been a few years since the Raiders have sent a defensive player to the Pro Bowl as the most recent was Khalil Mack in 2017. 2016 was the last season that the Raiders sent two players to the Pro Bowl as Reggie Nelson joined Mack in Hawaii but that has happened several times in franchise history.

Sending three players to the NFL’s all star game is a rare achievement but it has also been done a few times by the Silver and Black.

In 1983 and 1984 the Raiders defense had five Pro Bowlers which is the franchise high mark so far which has not been matched in the years since. If the Raiders had a top-3 defense in 2020 then maybe 5 Pro Bowlers would be realistic but we would gladly settle for 3.

The 3 most likely candidates for that honor are DE Maxx Crosby, LB Cory Littleton, and SS Johnathan Abram. Crosby terrorized opposing defenses as a rookie and finished tied for 11th in the NFL in sacks with 10 and tied for 5th in tackles for loss with 16. He will undoubtedly attract more attention in 2020 but will have a better defensive line around him to draw double teams away from him as well.

Littleton was named to the Pro Bowl after the 2018 season for his contributions on special teams but will have an excellent chance to be named to the 2020 squad for his play on defense. His resume in 2019 was borderline Pro Bowl-worthy as he finished top 10 in the NFL in tackles, 6th in INTs among linebackers, and 1st in fumble recoveries among LBs.

Littleton will be given free reign to make plays in Paul Guenther’s defense as Nick Kwiatkoski will hande play-calling duties and should be making his second trip to the Pro Bowl.

Johnathan Abram is the wildcard as we only saw him in limited action in 2019 but these are bold predictions for a reason. Abram will be the leader of this resurgent defensive unit and will quickly establish himself as one of the most feared safeties in the AFC.

He faces some stiff competition at strong safety in New York’s Jamal Adams but he may be on his way out of the conference after his recent trade demands.

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