The Las Vegas Raiders addressed most of their needs in what has consistently been praised as a strong offseason. The front office, however, notably used minimal resources to address what many believed were two key areas of need: Finding a nose tackle and a lead wide receiver.
It has become increasingly clear that John Spytek will evaluate what the latter room has to offer before targeting a wideout next offseason. As for the nose tackle spot, however, it appears that the position will be handled internally, or with new addition Benito Jones.
While many thought the position would be addressed on Day 2 of the 2026 NFL Draft, Las Vegas waited until Round 7 to take a swing at filling the need by selecting Brandon Cleveland. One Raiders reporter believes that could make Adam Butler one of the biggest offseason winners as a result.
Las Vegas Raiders reporter outlines why Adam Butler benefited this offseason
Butler has spent each of the past three seasons with the Raiders. While his sack numbers dipped in 2025 -- recording just 1.0 sack after recording 5.0 sacks in each of his first two seasons in Las Vegas -- he has plenty of familiarity with new defensive coordinator Rob Leonard.
In addition to serving as Butler's defensive line coach throughout his Raiders tenure, the two also spent the 2021 season with the Miami Dolphins, although Leonard was not his positional coach at that time.
Raiders reporter Jesse Merrick of Silver & Black Sports Network labeled the defensive tackle as one of his winners of the offseason, which hasn't really been talked about as much as other players, like Ashton Jeanty, for example.
"Adam Butler is one of my winners because he is your guy that can be a nose (tackle) fairly often, even, again, when they are in those nickel situations," Merrick explained. "But go back and read up on him. I think if you just Google, 'Adam Butler 2019 Patriots', there's an article out there that I found where they really dove into the weeds on Adam Butler and his usage as a nose, and just his versatility. He moved around, played nose, played 3-technique, all that stuff. I really like him as a versatile piece. Had they drafted a true nose or even a guy like Christen Miller out of Georgia, if that added up to work out for them, I think then I would have said, hey, Adam Butler is probably a loser in this situation. But the fact that they don't draft a defensive lineman till the seventh round tells me that Rob Leonard likes the guys that he has."
Leonard has worked with Butler extensively, and it is clear that he believes in the defensive lineman's ability to play nose tackle. As Merrick noted, the Raiders' decision not to select a nose tackle until the end of the draft is a clear vote of confidence in the veteran.
Of course, NFL defenses are in base formation less than 30% of the time, which lessens the need for a true 0-technique player. Instead, Las Vegas is opting to go with versatility on the defensive front, which should be vastly improved from a season ago.
Butler, who is entering the second year of a three-year contract, will have a chance to prove that he is a vital piece of the defense once again. While he will still have to rotate with Jonah Laulu and Thomas Booker IV, it is easy to see why Butler is a big winner.
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