Las Vegas Raiders still have needs heading into 2023 training camp
By Brad Weiss
It has been another offseason of change for the Las Vegas Raiders, who followed up a playoff berth during the 2021 NFL season with a six-win clunker this past year. The Silver and Black looked to have turned a corner after their strong end to the 2021 campaign, but even with strong additions like Davante Adams and Chandler Jones, they still took a step backward in 2022.
This offseason, second-year general manager Dave Ziegler has revamped the roster in a big way, including releasing nine-year starting quarterback Derek Carr. The Raiders have high hopes for the upcoming season, but there are still a ton of question marks surrouding the team on both sides of the ball.
Can Jimmy Garoppolo stay healthy? Is the offensive line good enough? Does Josh Jacobs play? These are some of the questions on offense. On defense, there are questions on all three levels, including one area that really stands out as we inch closer to the start of training camp.
While the offense likely has enough talent to be hard to stop in 2023, the defensive side of the ball still needs help.
Raiders still need help on the defensive side of the ball
Ziegler and his staff did a nice job bolstering the secondary, as he utilized both free agency and the 2023 NFL Draft to strengthen both the cornerback, and safety position. Up front along the defensive line, Ziegler tried to improve the pass rush by adding Tyree Wilson at pick No. 7 overall, and the interior by selecting Byron Young from Alabama in the third round.
Despite all the additions, the defense could struggle in a big way next season, and that could be due to the lack of depth at the linebacker positions.
The Raiders added Amari Burney in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft, and Robert Spillane was a big signing in free agency. Outside of that, and bringing back Luke Masterson, the key to this unit will be Divine Deablo, a talented former collegiate safety who is entering his third season in the league.
Las Vegas thinks a lot of Deablo, as he will wear the green dot, and be counted on to take a big step forward in 2023. Before getting injured last season, Deablo proved to be a tackling machine, and showed three-down potential for defensive coordinator Patrick Graham.
Deablo could certainly blossom into a star, and Spillane was a huge part of the Pittsburgh Steelers defense last season, but Ziegler needs to see what else is out there as we get closer to camp.
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