Las Vegas Raiders: An early look at the 2021 starting lineups

Las Vegas Raiders: An early look at the 2021 starting lineups

Defense

I believe a Wiseman once said, “with a new defensive coordinator, comes a new defense.” That certainly will be true when it comes to Las Vegas’ defense in 2021, which will be helmed by Legion of Boom co-creator Gus Bradley.

In this offseason, Las Vegas addressed a ton of defensive needs in free agency and in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Some of the biggest changes have come on the defensive line. Two of the most notable shocking moves were the cutting of Maurice Hurst and Arden Key, who were both signed by the San Francisco 49ers a few weeks later. These cuts weren’t without cause though, as Las Vegas added a few players to the line who they believe can make a huge impact.

These signings included Solomon Thomas, Quinton Jefferson, and Yannick Ngakoue. These signings should really help Las Vegas bring pressure and snuff the run, which are two areas where Las Vegas has struggled in the past three years.

The secondary also added a few new pieces after letting go of Lamarcus Joyner and Erik Harris. Many of these pieces were taken in the 2021 NFL Draft. Tre’von Moerhig, who Las Vegas traded up to get in the second round. Moerhig is considered by some to be the best safety in the class. He’s a true center fielder that plays smart defense, and he will likely be expected to be a day one starter.

Divine Deablo, Tyree Gillespie, and Nate Hobbs are also solid, versatile defensive backs taken on days two and three who can playmakers for Bradley. They also brought back Karl Joseph, who Las Vegas had drafted in the 2016 NFL Draft.

Having so many safeties will be great for Bradley and his scheme, which occasionally uses three safeties. The injection of youth and talent into the Las Vegas secondary should greatly benefit Vegas’ chances of having a passing defense that isn’t in the bottom twenty of the league.

Las Vegas was also able to bring back Nick Morrow and Johnathan Hankins, who were two bright spots on the abysmal 2020 Las Vegas defense. And players like Clelin Ferrell, Cory Littleton, Maxx Crosby, Damon Arnette, and Abram will all look to have a better season this upcoming year than they did in 2021.

So, the defensive should look a whole lot differently, and hopefully play a lot better.

• DE: Yannick Ngakoue, Maxx Crosby
• DT: Johnathan Hankins, Solomon Thomas
• LB: Cory Littleton, Nick Kwiatkowski, Nick Morrow
• CB: Trayvon Mullen, Damon Arnette
• S: Jonathan Abram, Tre’von Moerhig