The Las Vegas Raiders are a sleeping giant in the AFC ahead of the 2025 NFL season. While the conference is loaded with some of the best quarterbacks and teams in the league, the Silver and Black are just a few young players panning out away from being in playoff talks.
Of course, this is assuming players like Brock Bowers, Jakobi Meyers, Kolton Miller and Maxx Crosby can continue to perform at the level that they have. Regardless of how you slice it, however, the talent is clearly there in Las Vegas, and it will be on head coach Pete Carroll and his staff to maximize it.
There is one glaring concern still for the Raiders, however, which is the secondary, and specifically, the cornerback position. While the room is filled with promising young players with strong physical traits, a veteran presence is warranted, and the fan base has been ignoring a gutsy but obvious choice.
Raiders should sign veteran cornerback James Bradberry
General manager John Spytek has proven that he will give up draft picks to go get a solid player, but there are really no worthwhile cornerbacks on the trade block. So, the front office should pivot to the free agent market and target James Bradberry.
Bradberry sat out all of last season due to an injury and was released by the Philadelphia Eagles this offseason after young players like Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean stepped up in their secondary. But Bradberry truly checks all the boxes for the Raiders.
First of all, his arms are 33 inches long, which satisfies the requisite length for a defensive back in Carroll's secondary. He also has 125 NFL games under his belt, which would make him the most experienced player in Las Vegas' cornerback room by 80 contests.
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Not to mention, the Raiders added several executives from the Eagles' front office this offseason, so there is some familiarity there. Bradberry also spent two seasons playing under Las Vegas' defensive coordinator, Patrick Graham, with the New York Giants in 2020 and 2021.
He may be over the hill in his career and less enticing than someone like Stephon Gilmore, who is also still available at this point in the offseason. But Bradberry seems like a perfect fit for the Raiders' cornerback room due to his length and connections with the franchise.
If the defense surprises people and plays well against what should be a solid New England Patriots passing attack in Week 1, then perhaps Las Vegas will hold off. But if the same issues persist from the preseason, the team should be on the phone with Bradberry first thing on Monday morning.