With The First Pick
Fansided

Raiders free-agency prospects to fill holes before the NFL Draft

By Geoffrey Godfrey

Dec 20, 2021; Cleveland, Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis greets wide receiver DeSean Jackson (1) before the game between the Raiders and the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 20, 2021; Cleveland, Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis greets wide receiver DeSean Jackson (1) before the game between the Raiders and the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /
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Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports /

The Raiders season was anything, but boring. They made the playoffs, had head coaching changes, and two first-round picks cut.

Now, it’s time to look towards Free Agency and how the team and continue to get back to the playoffs.

The Raiders were finally able to get back to the playoffs, thanks to maybe one of the most exciting games in the last few years with an overtime win against the rival Chargers. While being led by Derek Carr who turned in a glowing performance this year despite having injuries, issues, and cuts with running backs, tight ends, and wide receivers.

Now that they got back to the playoffs, can they keep the trend going?

As of now, the Raiders have just over 21MM in cap space with 50 players currently under contract. Which is a good sign that they are bringing back a lot of the players, who took them to the playoffs. There are some questions on the roster though, about who should be retained with their current salary, or if they are a worse option compared to free agents or the draft.

With the new front office and coach, it is still up in the air how they will plan to attack free agency.

Last year the Raiders ranked:

Offense- sixth in pass yards, 17th in passing touchdowns, 13th in sacks allowed, 28th in rushing yards, fourth in rushing fumbles, and 22nd in total offensive touchdowns.

Defense- 20th in passing yards allowed, 10th in passing touchdowns allowed, 32nd in interceptions, 21st in sacks, 14th in rushing yards allowed, and ninth in rushing touchdowns allowed.

As you can see the defense was far more of an issue than the offense was, which could be a mix of bad draft picks and changes in coaching staff. They also released two corners and saw injuries hamper the production of other players on the defensive side of the ball. We should also be fair in some respects as they had to play the Chiefs and Chargers four times this season who were just offensive juggernauts.

Let’s take a look at who the Raiders have coming up for free agency this year, and who may stay or not be retained.

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