Las Vegas Raiders still need linebacker help after 2023 NFL Draft

The Las Vegas Raiders filled a bunch of needs via the 2023 NFL Draft, but help is still needed, especially at linebacker.

Early on in free agency, the Las Vegas Raiders added former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Robert Spillane to bolster the linebacker corps. Spillane, a veteran of five seasons in the NFL, mostly with the Steelers, is expected to come in and be a key for a Raiders defense looking to upgrade all three levels this offseason.

The problem is, outside of Spillane, the Raiders have done very little to address a significant need at linebacker. Yes, the team did draft a linebacker, selecting Amari Burney in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft, but depth is needed as we inch closer and closer to the offseason workout plans.

We recently put together an early look at the Raiders 53-man roster after the 2023 NFL Draft, and outside of Spillane Divine Deablo, potential Week 1 players are hard to come by. Burney will have a legitimate chance to make the Week 1 roster this summer, but if the Raiders want to really improve a defense that was one of the worst in football last season, more talent is needed.

Raiders should look at add linebackers via free agency

Looking at the players still available in free agency at the position, Myles Jack and Zach Cunningham make the most sense. Jack is a proven player at the NFL level, and Cunningham, when healthy, has shown he can rack up over 100 tackles in a season.

Las Vegas did a nice job bolstering the defensive line via the 2023 NFL Draft, as well as the secondary, bringing in potential starters in Tyree Wilson, Byron Young, Jakorian Bennett, and Christopher Smith II. However, if the middle of the defense is weak, it will be very tough for Patrick Graham's defense to have any real impact in 2023.