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Raiders: 3 free agents to help Las Vegas after June 1st’s cap increase

By Alexander Monfreda

Feb 9, 2022; Los Angeles, CA, USA; A Las Vegas Raiders helmet is seen at the Super Bowl LVI Experience at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 9, 2022; Los Angeles, CA, USA; A Las Vegas Raiders helmet is seen at the Super Bowl LVI Experience at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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CLEVELAND, OHIO – AUGUST 22: Center JC Tretter #64 of the Cleveland Browns watches from the sidelines during the second half against the New York Giants at FirstEnergy Stadium on August 22, 2021, in Cleveland, Ohio. The Browns defeated the Giants 17-13. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OHIO – AUGUST 22: Center JC Tretter #64 of the Cleveland Browns watches from the sidelines during the second half against the New York Giants at FirstEnergy Stadium on August 22, 2021, in Cleveland, Ohio. The Browns defeated the Giants 17-13. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /

3 free agent signings the Raiders would improve from

JC Tretter

Let me start by saying this – The Raiders came into free agency with the offensive line being the team’s weakest unit, and haven’t brought in many outside players to fix things. That being the case, there are many available offensive linemen in free agency who Las Vegas could benefit from. To keep things diverse, though, I’m only going to go with one on this shortlist.

If you were to ask Raider Nation, “Which free agent offensive linemen fits best with the Raiders?”, most would likely say Daryl Williams. While I agree Williams is both a good fit and player, my answer would be Tretter, even considering William’s right tackle position struggled more than the center position last season. I’ll dive into my thought process a bit.

I’ll start by saying, the distinction between JC Tretter and Daryl Williams on the Raiders offensive line is 100% dependent on where Alex Leatherwood lines up this upcoming season. If you believe he’ll play guard, Williams is probably your guy. If you’re like me and expect Leatherwood to return to the right tackle position, Tretter should be the choice. In OTAs, Leatherwood continues to play right tackle.

There’s 3 big things here:

1.  The Raiders’ interior offensive linemen are extremely versatile. You may be thinking Andre James shouldn’t be replaced, and after an outstanding latter half of the ’21 season, I agree. That said, James wouldn’t be subjected to the bench; He would compete with John Simpson for the left guard spot.

2. Piggybacking on the tail-end of the first point, moving James to left guard kills two birds with one stone. While James played very well, specifically during the second half of last season, left guard John Simpson did not. Plugging Andre James at LG continues to strengthen the interior, even if he isn’t playing center.

3. If Tretter isn’t an elite center, he’s right on the cusp. To find a year where Tretter received a PFF grade lower than 72, you’d have to go to 2017 – And even then, that grade was a hair below 70, at 69.1. To find a grade lower than 69.1, you’d have to go to Tretter’s rookie year in 2014.

Last season, the former Browns’ center scored the highest grade of his career, earning a mark of 78.7, with just one sack allowed. There have been only two times in his career where the fourth-round draft pick has allowed more than one sack in a season, totaling only 2 on each of those two occasions (2018, 2016).

A player of Tretter’s caliber is rare, and one team is going to get very lucky. However, he isn’t the only great player who’s still available.

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