The Las Vegas Raiders' fanbase was expecting the team to add a variety of players through the waiver wire after roster cutdowns. The team has holes to fill, and there was an expectation of more movement, with them having first dibs on any player who was waived last weekend.
In the end, the Raiders added only one player: cornerback Darrell Luter Jr., who was released by the San Francisco 49ers. Luter Jr. is a former fifth-round pick out of South Alabama, and he had an excellent 2026 preseason, allowing only 2 catches on 7 targets. But the 49ers released him.
Luter Jr. had plenty of suitors on the waiver wire as well, with five teams putting in a claim for him, but the Raiders were first in line and jumped at the opportunity. Assistant general manager Brian Stark gave his reasoning for adding the former 49er to the Silver and Black.
"Darrell [Luter Jr.]'s a good football player. He's played quality regular season snaps. He's a good special teams player, and we just saw the opportunity to add a player that's got a little bit of experience to him to that room because we've got a very competitive room, but some young players in there. So, his experience is what was intriguing to us.”
Darrell Luter Jr adds toughness to the Raiders' secondary and special teams
After watching him on film, it's clear that Luter Jr.'s best trait is his toughness, which shows up in his tackling ability. According to PFF, Luter Jr. had only three missed tackles in 2025 during 271 snaps. As the outside corner for the 49ers, he tackled some of the NFL's best running backs in open space.
Below against the Atlanta Falcons, Luter Jr. is the outside corner on the top of the screen. After the snap, Bijan Robinson tries to bounce the play outside. Luter Jr. recognizes the play, gets outside, and makes a great one-on-one tackle on Robinson in the open field, which isn't easy at all.
Also, he could be a player that the Raiders look to move inside to the slot.
Against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Luter Jr. is in the slot but the furthest outside corner. It’s 3rd and 1, and he reads the run play quickly and gets physical with wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. He sheds Thomas Jr. to get inside and helps make a play on the football.
However, overall coverage is an issue for Luter Jr., as he struggles to transition and deal with shifty receivers. If he doesn't get his hands on you in press coverage, it leads to wide-open players like the route below by the Bears.
Luter Jr. will be a special-teams ace for now, but he does have a similar style to Nate Hobbs and could eventually make his mark on defense. The coverage skills aren’t the best, though, so he'll probably make an impact in other areas until he figures that out more.
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