The Las Vegas Raiders are running a marathon as they rebuild this team from the ground up. Fans may not want to hear it, but the Raiders are currently in mile 2 or 3, and you simply can't win the race by sprinting out of the gate and trying to keep up with others. Las Vegas is running its own race.
Of course, they made some fairly massive free agency additions, like Tyler Linderbaum, but they especially beefed up the defense in what they thought was going to be the absence of Maxx Crosby. Now, however, they've built a fairly strong starting group around the superstar edge rusher.
But this Raiders roster is far from complete, and among other needs, the Silver and Black need to add a more capable nose tackle, someone who can play the 0 and 1-techniques. Veteran journeyman D.J. Reader should be on John Spytek's shortlist, as this would give Crosby another boost on the inside.
Raiders should consider signing veteran DT DJ Reader as FA drags on
NFL.com's Nick Shook recently went through and matched up still-available free agents with teams which he believed were the best fits for those players. For Reader, that team was the Raiders, and Shook explained why:
"Reader remains unsigned more than a week after the free agency negotiation period began -- likely a product of misaligned market value expectations -- and the available jobs have dwindled. Reader could probably find a less lucrative, rotational role with teams like Detroit, Baltimore, Buffalo or Cincinnati, but if he wants to cash in (relatively speaking) with a team that has become intriguing after a busy offseason, why not head for Las Vegas?" Shook proposed. "Its current projected starter alongside Adam Butler, defensive tackle Jonah Laulu, has just two seasons of experience and ranked 126th out of 134 interior defensive linemen in 2025, per Pro Football Focus. Toss Reader into that room as a veteran who could serve as somewhat of a stopgap and show the younger guy(s) how to become a productive pro."
Now, Reader, in my opinion, wouldn't really be replacing Laulu, nor does he need to. Laulu is a promising player, and Reader would serve as the nose tackle when Las Vegas is in its base 3-4, but he can also slide over and rotate with others between the 2i and 3-technique when needed.
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Last season, Reader played 240 snaps at nose tackle, and while he also played 331 as a more standard defensive tackle, he would provide a solution to the Raiders' current hole at the 0 and 1-techniques. Depending on his contract, which shouldn't be too big at this point, he could be valuable.
Reader isn't your prototypical run-stuffing nose tackle, but he gets the job done. However, when the Raiders are in nickel packages and need some pass-rush juice from the interior, Reader would be an incredible asset, as his Pro Football Focus pass-rush grade of 72.6 tells the story.
He didn't record any sacks last year, but he had 3.0 in 2024, and he has recorded 12 quarterback hits and 30 pressures in his last two seasons with the Detroit Lions. Reader's counting stats aren't overly impressive, but it's hard to look at production as the measuring stick for interior defensive linemen.
If he can be a cost-controlled option and serve as both the true nose at times and rotate in with Butler, Laulu, Tonka Hemingway and Thomas Booker IV, then Reader would be a valuable veteran addition for the Raiders' defense, yet another for Crosby now that he has returned.