Las Vegas Raiders: Grading defensive free agent additions

The Las Vegas Raiders needed a massive overhaul of the defense and here are the grades for their defensive free-agent additions.

The Las Vegas Raiders defense was one of the worst in the NFL in 2020 and they came into the offseason knowing that a major overhaul was needed if they were going to end their four-year playoff drought. The question was not whether the Raiders would look to improve the defense but where they would focus on doing so, through free agency or the draft.

We are still a month or so from the 2021 NFL Draft but the Raiders have been active in the free agency market primarily focusing on rebuilding a defensive line that struggled mightily in 2020. The Raiders d-line struggled to make an impact against both the pass and run and had one of the lowest sack totals in the NFL.

There are still moves to be made and the roster will likely look very different between March and September but we can give grades based on the current context, the player’s fit, and the value from the contract details that we have.

Let’s start with the Raiders filling a major need on the defensive line.