Las Vegas Raiders: New-look secondary the key in 2021
By Brad Weiss
The Las Vegas Raiders revamped their secondary, and that unit is going to be key for any success during the 2021 NFL season.
The Las Vegas Raiders’ main goal this upcoming season will be making the playoffs, a place they have only been to once since the 2002 NFL season. That is a long run of watching meaningful games on the couch during January, but they have been inching towards the postseason the last two years.
Last season, it was the defense that really did them in, as it was one of the worst units in all of football. As they head to the 2021 campaign, the front office has done a nice job revamping the defense, a unit that is going to be key if the Raiders want to do anything of substance this upcoming season.
For the Raiders to actually win more than they lose, the secondary will have to be better, and in terms of personnel, they are.
Raiders got better at cornerback and safety
Cornerback Trayvon Mullen has been outstanding since being selected in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft, and he is going to be expected to continue to develop into a legitimate CB1. The Silver and Black brought in Casey Hayward in free agency, and that is going to be huge for them, as outside of Mullen, the group is just a bunch of question marks.
At safety, Johnathan Abram has to get better, as he was out of position way too many times this past season. If he improves, and Trevon Moehrig is the real deal, this group is exponentially better, especially with the team bringing back former first-round selection Karl Joseph as a security blanket back there.
It is also going to be interesting to see what the team can get out of young players like Amik Robertson and Damon Arnette, who are going to be crucial in terms of depth. Arnette was a first-round pick in 2020 and struggled through an inconsistent rookie season, but the hope is that he can avoid the bust label in Year 2.
Overall, this unit was torched time and time again last season, and playing against Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert twice a season, they had to get better. They will be tested early on in 2021, as they face Lamar Jackson and Ben Roethlisberger in Weeks 1 and 2, so we will get an early indication on whether the right moves were made immediately.