Raiders reunite with a defensive veteran in latest free agent prediction

Someone just needs to give Bleacher Report a GM job. BR has spent all summer grinding thanklessly – you know all those aggregated free agent articles? Bleacher Report. All those ideas-disguised-as-reports? Bleacher Report. Every idea you've ever had was actually first published at Bleacher Report. They heard that NFL summers can be kinda slow and rose to the occasion, in a sense.

Raiders fans owe BR a particularly large debt of gratitude, because for whatever reason, they continue to be the topic of some classic BR free agent speculation. In a recent FA article – which was definitely very different than other FA articles – they found the perfect pairing to help the Raiders' defensive line.

Bleacher Report really wants the Raiders to reunite with Yannick Ngakoue

"And depth along the edge is still a question mark for the Raiders. Crosby and Koonce were both terrific last season, but they were the only Raiders to top five sacks in 2023. Bringing back Yannick Ngakoue would give Las Vegas a reliable third edge option ... Ngakoue is coming off his worst season as a pro, due in large part to a broken ankle that ended his campaign. Before 2023, however, Ngakoue recorded at least eight sacks in every pro campaign—he had 10 with the Raiders in 2021—and he's eager to return to form."

I don't think "they had two really good edge rushers last year" is the best point to lead with in an article about how they don't have enough edge rushing depth, but whatever. Crosby's one of the best 3-4 pass rushers in football, and Koonce finished the season as Pro Football Focus' 22nd best edge rusher (out of 112). And while Tyree Wilson had one of the more underwhelming rookie seasons of his draft class last year, he's still only 24 and barely a year out from being the seventh overall pick; it's not uncommon for pass rushers to take a few seasons to develop.

Ultimately, adding Ngakoue isn't the worst idea. It wouldn't cost the Raiders much, and like the article points out, the upside is still very much there. I'm not sure the fit is as obvious as BR would like you to believe, but where's the fun in that? Don't let me stop you from daydreaming of a world where the Raiders have one of – if not the – most dominant defensive lines in football.