Raiders 2022 free agency: Las Vegas adds two linebackers, but is it enough?

Raiders 2022 free agency: Las Vegas adds two linebackers, but is it enough?

The Las Vegas Raiders address linebacker depth in free agency, adding two new faces to the roster. Should the front office be satisfied?

Now with Kiser and Fackrell joining the Silver and Black, the Raiders find themselves with four linebackers. The two join forces with ’21 Pro Bowler Denzel Perryman and ’21 rookie Divine Deablo, both of who were the only players Las Vegas had in this unit before yesterday’s signings.

So the question remains – Are these four men enough to close the door on adding more linebackers? The answer is no.

There are a few reasons why there’s more to be done in the unit, but the Kiser and Fackrell duo is a good start. Both of these players have starting experience and are on the versatile side. As mentioned earlier, one of the two even has a past of working with Graham.

Now, let’s get to why these four aren’t enough to close the door on bringing in additional linebackers.

First up is health concerns, and I say this while thinking of the team’s best linebacker. Now going into year eight, Denzel Perryman has yet to stay healthy for a full season. Last year marked his career-high in games played for a season, and he still missed two games. Perryman was a stud for the Raiders last year, but his 29 missed games in seven seasons is an eyesore.

Getting insurance for Perryman is important, whether it’s having a plan-B for if he goes down, or a player that can come into the game and relieve him, giving him time to rest and further preventing the chances of an injury.

The second potential problem lies in the other projected starter, Divine Deablo, and his lack of experience. When I say lack of experience, I’m not only talking about him being a rookie last year, but him being a safety-turned-linebacker who’s trying to find his way at his new position. This can be a massive issue in Graham’s system that preaches versatility.

It isn’t that Deablo doesn’t have the skills to become a versatile linebacker, it’s that he hasn’t played the position at the next level long enough to excel at the various roles which make a player versatile. Deablo played better than Littleton last year, but the harsh truth is that doesn’t say much. The Raider now entering his second year has the potential to thrive with Graham, but not until he’s more experienced and comfortable.

Lastly, it simply isn’t enough depth for Graham’s scheme(s). Graham rotates between a 3-4 and 4-3 front, where placing these linebackers exactly where he wants will be tricky. In a 4-3, it’s easy. Jones and Crosby play the edge, and you bring in two or three linebackers, depending on if Hobbs is in or not.

In the 3-4, it’s a little more complicated. We can assume Chandler Jones sets one of the edges still, but the second edge is a bit trickier. It’s reasonable to assume Fackrell sets the other edge a large chunk of the time, as opposed to Crosby, who will likely be the inside defensive end on blitz-calls. You throw in Perryman and Deablo at the other two spots, and now you only have one player to rotate.

Linebacker is a position that typically sees a lot of rotating, due to different player strengths in various situations and all the energy that’s exerted on a down-to-down basis. If you only have one player to rotate in during games where the 3-4 is the main front, you’re in trouble.

The one positive here goes back to Hobbs, which allows you to pull off many two-linebacker sets. Graham’s defensive philosophy is that 3-4 vs 4-3 is outdated, as defensives should be able to run several sets on any given Sunday.

To this point, it means Graham shouldn’t shy away from a package with three defensive linemen, two edge rushers, one inside linebacker, and five defensive backs; A 3-3-5, allowing two of the four linebackers on the roster to get rest. While it is indeed a situation where you can make only four rostered linebackers work, it isn’t all that reliable, as this isn’t an every-down set.

Given these facts, we can conclude Las Vegas could get away with only four linebackers on the roster, but there are simply too many question-marks to take such an unnecessary gamble. With that being answered, a new question arises; What are some of the other options the Raiders have at linebacker? Let’s go over that next.