Cory Littleton, LB, Las Vegas Raiders
Cory Littleton is a massive acquisition for the Las Vegas Raiders. Their defense had issues at the second level a season ago, and Littleton can mask some of those deficiencies immediately upon stepping onto the field. He has built himself into a three-down linebacker in the NFL, and in the Los Angeles Rams’ sub-packages he can stay on the field and be a force against the run while still having the ability to run with tight ends and running backs when tasked with coverage responsibilities.
Here is how Pro Football Focus described what Littleton can do defensively:
During his four seasons with the Los Angeles Rams (including the postseason), Cory Littleton has logged 1,368 coverage snaps and earned a PFF coverage grade of 90.0, second to only Atlanta’s Deion Jones among linebackers from the 2016 NFL Draft class. As an off-ball defender in the Rams’ sub-package defense, Littleton was often the only linebacker on the field featured with six defensive backs. With 4.73 speed, he moves well in space and matches up with underneath pass routes well enough to have earned a 7th ranked coverage grade in both 2018 (83.1) and 2019 (82.3).
Littleton inked a three-year, $35.25 million deal with the Raiders. For what he brings to their defense on all three downs, that is a steal.
Bulaga | Sanders | Clinton-Dix | Ebron | Butler | Littleton | Joseph | Agholor | Ebner | Harris | Hargrave