3 reasons the Las Vegas Raiders will have the best defense in the AFC West in 2022
By Nick Bailey
The Raiders forever struggling defense improved last season under Gus Bradley. Now, new Defensive Coordinator, Patrick Graham will try to take it to the next level.
This offseason in the NFL was an arms race, and the Las Vegas Raiders were very much involved. Every team that felt that they had a chance to win a Super Bowl made a big move, but no division had an offseason that the AFC West had in 2022.
The Chargers, Broncos, and of course the Raiders all added big names to their team hoping to catch the Kansas City Chiefs, who have won the division for six straight years. The Chargers, who are the national media’s favorite to not only win the division but the Super Bowl as well, had a big-time offseason as well.
They not only signed the No. 1 corner in free agency J.C. Jackson to add to their already formidable secondary, but they also added Sebastian Joseph Day from the Rams, and of course, Khalil Mack. Oh yeah, they also added Kyle Van Noy.
The Broncos already had one of the more talented defenses on paper last season and added a pass rusher, Randy Gregory, to that group. But the main acquisition for the Broncos this offseason was trading for a former Super Bowl-winning quarterback in Russell Wilson.
That move alone has made them not only one of the favorites to win the AFC West but the entire AFC as well. It seems to be the only team in the AFC West that isn’t expected to make a deep run in the playoffs is the Raiders, despite making the playoffs last season through adversity that no NFL team had ever gone through before, and becoming the first team in NFL history to make the playoffs with an interim head coach.
The Raiders improved their roster this offseason as well, adding two players who are arguably the best at their positions in Wide Receiver Davante Adams and Defensive End Chandler Jones. They also added two starting-caliber corners in Rock Ya-Sin and Anthony Averett, rebuilt the defensive line once again, and added some solid linebackers to a room that already featured Pro Bowler Denzel Perryman and rising player Devine Deablo.
I feel in the grand scheme of looking at the AFC West people are not only overlooking quarterback Derek Carr by constantly calling him the fourth-best quarterback in the division, but are also very much overlooking the talent that this defense has. In this article, I will give you the three reasons why the Raiders will have the best defense in the AFC West.