Raiders 2022 free agency: All boxes checked on the defense

Raiders 2022 free agency: All boxes checked on the defense

Issues at defensive tackle

If you thought the Raiders entering free agency with two linebackers on the roster was bad, listen to this one: Las Vegas went into the off-season with a goose egg in the defensive tackles column.

It wasn’t until they signed Andrew Billings to a future reserve contract at the end of February when they got their first interior defensive lineman, who was the only defensive tackle the Raiders went into the free agency period with. Those days are now ancient history, though, as the Silver and Black fixed their defensive tackle issue, having four on the roster.

Las Vegas didn’t stack up on any defensive tackles – They brought in starting talents such as Bilal Nichols and Vernon Butler. Nichols has been a constant starter on the Bears defensive line for the last three seasons, where he’s started 43 contests, with 118 tackles to show for it.

Butler has two years of starting experience, coming in the ’19 and ’20 seasons. At 330lbs, Butler is surprisingly versatile. In ’20, he played defensive tackle, where you would expect a player his size to be. In 2019, however, he played defensive end, where he recorded six of his eight career sacks.

In addition to these two, the Raiders brought in Kyle Peko from Tennessee. Las Vegas went from having zero defensive tackles, to having just Andrew Billings, and now potentially finish their interior defensive lineman search with four players to rotate. Consider it another depth problem checked off.