Official Las Vegas Raiders Thread

Three things to watch...
Raiders had Christian Eliss in for a visit. He has a 1 year, 3.3m option with the Pats. Allows them to match and keep him. He's a young, talented LB who started 5 games for the Pats last season. He racked up 80 tackles, had 5 QB hits, 5 passes defended, 1.5 sacks, and an INT. He'd be an instant starter for the Raiders. He's solid in coverage, too. He was 41st overall among LBs and 40th against the pass among LBs. He was top 20 as a pass rusher, too.

Tyler Lockett is looking for a contract. He was 67th among WRs last season according to PFF. He's fading as he ages (33), but he's a starter, has a high catch%, a solid success%, and he has a relationship with Smith and Carroll. I'd love to see him join on a one-year deal with some incentives.

Third, my man Geno Smith needs an extension. He collected at $16m roster bonus. Time to get him under a 2 or 3-year contract.

 

BACK Zach Carter DI
He's important depth for the Raiders. Logged 112 snaps for the Raiders, 151 for the Bengals in 2024, and he even started 14 games for the Bengals in the two seasons prior.

 

Reports are that Eliss has been signed to an offer sheet by the Raiders. Patriots have a chance to match. I really hope LV lands him.

 

BACK Sam Webb CB
The Raiders haven't splurged on a CB, but they now have Stokes, Jones, Bennett, Holmes, Webb, and Richardson.

Sam Webb was the 74th rated CB last season, and he was 90th against the pass.
Eric Stokes was 112th overall, and he was 94th against the pass.
Jakorian Bennet was 134th overall, including 110th in coverage.
Darnay Holmes was 164th overall, but he was 50th against the run.
Jack Jones was 165th overall, though he was 10th in pass rush.
Decamerion Richardson was 200th overall, and 200th against the pass.


They lost Nate Hobbs, but Hobbs was 110th among CBs and 103rd in overage.

 

Raiders really in on Elliss .

“Raiders salary cap currently carries a pending $4.842 million charge for Christian Elliss, per a league source. Signed offer sheet with Las Vegas, and now have until Monday afternoon to match for restricted free agent tendered for $3.263 million @KPRC2.”

 

Raiders add a Super Bowl winning analytics coach...

Raiders Make Another Key Addition to Pete Carroll's Coaching Staff on Saturday

 

Patriots matched on Elliss. That's brutal. I think he's going to be good.

 

I'd like to see them try, but word is the Patriots think he's going to be a star.

 

IN Leki Fotu DL
he's a run stuffer who missed most of last season, but he's only 27 and has started 21 games.

 

We desperately need a LB

*Eric Kendricks (83 Composite)
Excellent against the run and as a pass rusher. Solid in coverage. PFF's 27th overall LB.
He's 33, but he's the best-looking LB so far.
62.7 Coverage Grade
#25 run stuffs
#50 TFL
#34 QB Pressures
101.0 PRWT on 36 targets
Market Value: 6.8m

EJ Speed (74 Composite) played a ton of snaps and was good against the run. Not good in coverage.
46.3 Coverage Grade
#9 in run stuffs
#23 TFL
#58 QB Pressures
95.8 PRWT on 62 targets
Market Value: 5.4m

JJ Russell (56 Composite) was great against the run and struggled against the pass. He was the 76th rated LB.
59.0 Coverage Grade
115.7 PRWT on 18 targets

Bobby Wagner (66 Composite) at age 34 had another awesome season. A second team all-pro, he was the third highest grade LB.
68.1 Coverage Grade
#1 run stuffs
#10 TFL
#34 QB Pressures
89.3 PRWT on 38 targets
I could see us making an offer, but one has to wonder if it's a good fit (we have MLB) and makes sense in terms of money. I don't think so.

 

IN Ian Thomas TE
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Thomas came into the league as one of the more athletics TEs in NFL history. He was the 44th of 523 TEs rated by PlayerProfiler.com. And he is the #356 player among 6548 in that span. Wild. But each year, he has become more of a blocker and less of a receiver. Consider: in 2021, he ran 13 routes per game, down to 7.6 in 2022, then 5.8 in 2023, and then 4.0 last year.

 

Kendricks would be a good signing at LB.

 

The more I hear about the Elliss miss, it's not really on LV. They were offering essentially double his cap hold, at 6+m per season. Patriots matched.

 

Interesting rumors...
Geno still not signed. Lots of possibilities for the hold up.
Rumors of Raiders trading the #6 to move back. I am not opposed. I'm not sold on Jeanty, especially with 3-5 really solid looking RBs in the draft.

 

Rumors...

Still no Geno Smith contract extension.
Hunter Renfrow visits with the Raiders!

 

LB Devin White signed...

 

Devin White was an awesome LB from 2019 to 2022. Racked up an average of 120 tackles a season, had 35 TFL, 55 QB Hits, and was a Pro Bowler and 2nd team All-Pro.
He was the #1 most athletic LB in his draft class (2019). He is in the top 7% of LBs at Player Profiler's "All Time Rank." But some MCL and foot injuries slowed him last year.

2024 was a bit of a struggle for him. He missed 10 games, started in only 1, and missed a career high 17.4% of his tackles (twice his career rate). He also saw fewer than 30 snaps per game, by far a career worst mark. He was a 57 grade at PFF, 131st among LBs. It's worth looking at where he struggled most all though. He was the 166th worst pass rushing LB. He was the 141st worth against the run. He was 65th in coverage (62.4 grade). Most of his snaps (96 of 176) were pass overage snaps.

WalterFootball had him as their 22nd best LB free agent, right behind Elandon Roberts.

I didn't include him on my LB list because he didn't have enough snaps, honestly. But here's how he would have stacked up:
#65 QB Pressures
1 run stuff
69.4 PRWT on 18 targets

He was a 47 composite, but if he can play even 300 snaps next season, he'd be a 54 Composite rating. Reading what fans of the teams he has been on think of him...not good.

 

I know I spend too much time on this sometimes, but I think our LB corps is at least as good as last season when the players are on the field, but we're taking on some large injury risks.

LBs Under Contract
*ILB Elandon Roberts 1/3m
*Amari Burney 1.1m
*ILB Brandon Smith 1/1m
*Tommy Eichenberg 1.0m
*Andre Carter 2/1.9m
**Amari Gainer 3/2.9m
*Kana'i Mauga .8m
*ILB Jackson Mitchell 1/.8m
*Ovie Oghoufo 1/.8m
*ILB Devin White ?

Departed Free Agents:
Chaisson 3.3m/MV3.mV
Spillane 3.5m/MV10.4m
Deablo 1.2m/MV7.5m

Unsigned FAs
Luke Masterson .9m

2024 LBs by Snaps
Robert Spillane 1095 snaps
Divine Deablo 689 snaps
K'Lavon Chaisson 508 snaps
Luke Masterson 102 snaps
Amari Burney 101 snaps
Tommy Eichenberg 80 snaps
Andre Carter II 16 snaps
Amari Gainer 12 snaps

Spillane:
Composite Rating 82 (solid starter)
Run Stud (8th best, 13th in stops)
Poor in coverage (137th), 48th in PRWT (111)
Good in pass rush (40th): Sacks 13th, Pressures 21st

Replacement? Elandon Roberts
Composite Rating 71 (starter)
Run Stud (5th best, 55th in stops)
Poor in coverage (133rd), 60th in PRWT (107.2)
Solid in pass rush (54th): Sacks 47th, Pressures 28th

Thoughts: essentially, they've traded similar players. Spillane is younger, while Roberts has some injury concerns. Savings of $8m for the Raiders at the risk of injury.

Deablo:
Composite Rating 67 (rotation)
Average vs. Run (138th best, 61st in stops)
Poor in coverage (126th), 37th in PRWT (115.9)
Solid in pass rush (42nd): Sacks 47th, Pressures 39th

Replacement? Devin White
Composite Rating 47 (injury-compromised)
Average vs. Run (141st best, 104th in stops)
Solid in coverage (65th), 159th in PRWT (69.4)
Awful in pass rush (166th): 0 Sacks, Pressures 75th

Thoughts: Deablo signed a big contract, and he was healthy last year. The two are actually the same age (born 200 days apart). White was better in coverage, far worse in pass rush, and similar against the run. Raiders taking another injury gamble to save a lot of money.

Chaisson:
Composite Rating 65 (rotation)
Average vs. Run (111th best, 50th in stops) - vs. EDGES
Solid in pass rush (26th): Sacks 42nd, Pressures 64th - vs. EDGES
-Really just a Defensive End

Luke Masterson 102 snaps
Composite Rating 38 (backup)
Solid vs. Run (40th best, 131st in stops)
Awful in coverage (178th), 147th in PRWT (79.2)
Average in pass rush (69th): Sacks 0, Pressures 0

Amari Burney 101 snaps
Composite Rating 41 (backup)
Poor vs. Run (153rd best, 95th in stops)
Poor in coverage (118th), 49th in PRWT (110.9)
Solid in pass rush (41st): Sacks 47th, Pressures 85th

Tommy Eichenberg 80 snaps
Composite Rating 28 (bottom of roster)
Solid vs. Run (69th best, 0 stops)
Awful in coverage (182nd), 9th in PRWT (143.1)
Poor in pass rush (129th): Sacks 0, Pressures 0