Oakland Raiders Finally Help Defense in Free Agency

The Oakland Raiders surprisingly started out focusing on offense early in free agency. But they finally came around for the defense, signing LB Jelani Jenkins Monday.

At the start of free agency, the Oakland Raiders came out thinking offense. WR/KR Cordarrelle Patterson and TE Jared Cook were great signings that will help franchise QB Derek Carr a lot. All the talk now is about the team getting RB Marshawn Lynch out of retirement.

But what about the defense?

The team surely needs to do something about the defense to improve on last year.

Are the Raiders simply waiting on the draft, deep in defensive talent this year?

Or are they trying to win it all on offense, Atlanta Falcons style.

I think Tom Brady’s 25-point comeback in the Super Bowl tells us that isn’t a great strategy. And those are the same New England Patriots the Raiders would have to go through to get there. The good news is the Raiders got to the defense Monday, signing LB Jelani Jenkins.

Jenkins is a solid LB that has speed to go sideline to sideline and athleticism for coverage. This is an underrated signing that exponentially upgrades the Raiders at the WILL LB spot. In my opinion, he’s just as good as Zach Brown, whom the Raiders couldn’t close a deal with.

The difference is Brown had a breakout season while Jenkins struggled with a knee injury in 2017. Jenkins is just 25 too so if he can stay healthy, the Raiders have a player for years to come. All the Raiders have to do now is re-sign Perry Riley Jr. and the LB corps is complete.

With new coordinator John Pagano, the Raider D is on the way!