Las Vegas Raiders: NFC West 2021 free agents to ‘steal’

Dre Kirkpatrick could be the veteran CB the Raiders are looking for

Dre Kirkpatrick joined the Arizona Cardinals in 2020 after 8 years in Cincinnati and had a solid season for the NFC West team. His PFF grade was just 49.0 and he had some rough moments for the Cardinals but he was still able to record 56 tackles, 7 passes defended, and 3 interceptions in 14 games.

He was on the field for 68% of the Cardinals’ defensive snaps despite missing two games with injury and while he is not as good as he was in his prime, he still matched his career-high in interceptions and fumble recoveries. The Raiders need a player in their defensive backfield that can force turnovers and Kirkpatrick has done so throughout his career with 13 career interceptions in 78 starts.

At this point in his career, Kirkpatrick should not be relied on to start for the Raiders but he could be a veteran replacement for either Damon Arnette or Trayvon Mullen and provide some depth to the group. The Raiders are high on Isaiah Johnson and brought back Nevin Lawson but depth is needed to avoid a repeat of 2020 where Daryl Worley came in off the street to start for Las Vegas.