Over the last two seasons, the Las Vegas Raiders have made some significant investments into their linebacker corps. Not only did they sign two marquee free agents in Cory Littleton and Nick Kwaitkoski, but they also re-signed Nicholas Morrow and spent two third-round picks on Tanner Muse and Divine Deablo.
But is it enough to give the Raiders not only a competent unit but one of the best linebacker groups in the NFL?
In a recent article by Pro Football Focus, they ranked the linebacker units in the NFL heading into the season. The Raiders came in at No. 16, but the hope is that they can be much better than that. Here is what PFF had to say about the group:
“The Raiders’ linebacker group was supposed to be vastly improved in 2020 with the addition of Cory Littleton, who had PFF coverage grades of at least 80.0 in back-to-back years with the Rams before signing as a big-money free agent. Littleton’s first season in Las Vegas ended with a coverage grade of 49.7, though, leading to questions about what went so wrong. Nick Kwiatkoski was the better of the two new additions, but the Raiders need Littleton to rediscover his best play going forward.”
In his first year with the team, new defensive coordinator Gus Bradley will certainly have his work cut out for him with this unit. There are a lot of good players in the group, but deciding who plays and who doesn’t could be difficult.
The key to this group is clearly Cory Littleton. If he can get back to his Pro Bowl-caliber of play, the Raiders will have one of the best linebacker corps in football. But if he struggles again, they could be the downfall of the defense once again.
We should learn a lot about this group over the next few weeks during training camp and the preseason. Keep an eye on how the linebackers perform as their success or lack thereof will be a key factor in how many wins this team has in 2021.
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