With ample resources at their disposal, the Las Vegas Raiders made countless upgrades to their roster this offseason. And while most of the fanbase expected major reinforcements to be made to the defensive tackle room, John Spytek and Co. largely abstained from making any big changes.
Yes, they drafted Brandon Cleveland in the 7th round of the 2026 NFL Draft and brought in Gary Smith III as a UDFA, but other than that, the Raiders seemed more than fine running it back with the same group they had last year. The group was fairly underrated, to be fair.
But Las Vegas finally shook things up on the defensive interior on Wednesday, just days before OTAs, as they signed defensive tackle/nose tackle Benito Jones, who has familiarity with defensive coordinator Rob Leonard, and waived defensive tackle Brodric Martin in a corresponding move.
Las Vegas Raiders sign DT Benito Jones, waive Brodric Martin with injury
Jones is a five-year NFL veteran who went undrafted in 2020 but landed with the Miami Dolphins, where he hung on the practice squad and was eventually elevated to the active roster. Leonard was the assistant defensive line coach in Miami that year and the outside linebackers coach in 2021.
Their two paths diverged after the 2021 season, but they have now crossed again in Las Vegas. Jones has also continued to develop into a reliable rotational player on the interior defensive line, playing in 65 games over the last four years and starting 38 in the last three seasons.
In that time, Jones has totaled 81 tackles, including nine for a loss, 3.5 sacks, three passes defended, 14 quarterback hits and 40 run stops. Jones also has the versatility to play both the nose tackle (0 and 1-tech) and slide out to the three-technique, which is an asset in Leonard's 3-4 base defense.
Martin wasn't expected to be much of a factor in the defensive tackle rotation, if at all, but his history lining up over center gave him a fighting chance. However, Jones poses much more of a threat to other players already on the roster, like Cleveland and 2025 6th-rounder J.J. Pegues.
Most would even venture to guess that, if the season started this Sunday, the Raiders would trot Jones out there in the center of the defense on the opening snap. Months still separate the team from making that decision, however, so Las Vegas can see how things work out this offseason.
The addition of Jones definitely changes the equation for Leonard's defensive front, though. Jones is now in the conversation to start in the middle or at least get significant reps. This was a nice upgrade for Spytek to find at this point in the offseason, and it certainly mixes things up in Las Vegas.
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