Raiders 2022 Mock Draft: Las Vegas goes on the defensive early

Raiders 2022 Mock Draft: Las Vegas goes on the defensive early

Much like the defensive line, linebacker has become a position of need for the Raiders as they released Nick Kwiatkoski and Cory Littleton and lost Nicholas Morrow to free agency. Their starting linebackers are projected to be Pro Bowler Denzel Perryman, free-agent addition Jayon Brown, and second-year Divine Deablo who showed great promise at the end of the season.

Three linebackers are not enough of course and they currently have just two others on the roster so the addition of Darrian Beavers here at pick 126 makes perfect sense. Beavers is an experienced player who started his career at UConn before transferring to Cincinnati in 2019 and became one of the leaders of a fearsome Bearcats defense.

The stud linebacker made plays all over the field for the Bearcats and put up 98 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, and 4 sacks in 14 games in his final year. He is well built at 6’3”, 243lbs, and showed great athleticism at his pro day by running a 4.67 40-yard dash and a 39.0 in the vertical jump.

The former Bearcat has all of the tools to be a successful middle linebacker at the NFL level but can also be used as an outside linebacker to back up Deablo in the coming season. He struggles at times in pass coverage but has the athleticism to make up for it and his size means he can match up with tight ends and hold up well against the run.

His years of experience at two schools with 56 games played over five years should help him acclimate quickly to a new defense and can make an impact right away.