Today marks the one-week anniversary of the start of free agency. That’s because these days free agency starts when the negotiating period does and that opened up last Monday at 9 AM Pacific.
Many positions have been addressed by the Raiders, whether it was adding outside free agents such as DE Yannick Ngakoue, DT Quinton Jefferson, or WR John Brown, or re-signing players such as LB Nicholas Morrow, guards Richie Incognito and Denzelle Good, or DT Johnathan Hankins.
The one area that has largely gone unaddressed is the secondary. There have been a lot of talented corners and safeties get swiped up so far. But there is also a good amount of outstanding talent still to be had.
So, I have compiled the top ten DBs still on the market for the Raiders’ needs.
1. CB Richard Sherman
Not only is he the top defensive back on the market, but he would also be just what the Raiders’ secondary needs in terms of leadership for their otherwise young secondary. And he also happens to know Gus Bradley’s defense being that Bradley was his defensive coordinator in Seattle when the Seahawks used a fifth-round pick on him.
The 33-year-old saw his 2020 season cut short by injury, but in 2019 he was named to his fifth Pro Bowl. Sherman now boasts of 36 career interceptions while being named to five Pro Bowls and three All-Pro teams in his distinguished career.
2. CB Adoree Jackson
No question Jackson would be a great get for the Raiders. The question is if they would be able or willing to outbid other teams wanting to sign him. He was a cap casualty cut by the Titans, and thus carries a greater draw than a simple free agent because adding him wouldn’t factor into the compensatory pick formula.
Mayock’s fifth-ranked cornerback in the 2017 draft, Jackson was selected at 18 overall. He’s best suited as an outside cornerback, which is part of why the Raiders would spend big on him being that they have their own first-round pick Damon Arnette heading into his second year.
3. S Malik Hooker
What Gus Bradley needs is a true single-high safety. And that’s what Hooker is. Last season he was lost to a torn Achilles in the second week of the season, which in some ways is good news because it means he will have had more time to heal up and therefore have a good chance of not missing any offseason practice time.
As it happens, he was selected at No. 15 overall, which was three spots ahead of Adoree Jackson in that 2017 draft. He was Mayock’s second-ranked safety in that draft behind Jamal Adams, and that’s just where he was taken.
4. S Tre Boston
The first time in Boston’s career in which he started every game was in 2017 under Gus Bradley as the Chargers’ new defensive coordinator. And he’s remained a full-time starter ever since. The past two seasons the North Carolina alum started every single game at free safety in Carolina, back where his NFL career began.
This time last year, he was given a three-year deal by the Panthers only to get released last month, just one year into his deal. And as he was cut, once again, there’s the benefit of his addition not counting in the comp pick formula.
5. CB Brian Poole
At 5-9, his stature makes him an ideal slot corner, so it’s a good thing he’s played that position well. He has allowed just one touchdown and a passer rating of under 70.0 when targeted over the past two seasons in the slot according to Pro Football Focus. That kind of production along with his three interceptions over that time should make him a more than worthy replacement for Lamarcus Joyner who struggled in that role including failing to record a single interception in the past two seasons for the Raiders.
6. CB Malcolm Butler
Another free agent who entered the market as a cap casualty, Butler would fit the mold of instant competition with Damon Arnette to start. And he was cut, so, again, there’s the benefit of not counting in the comp pick formula. The 31-year-old is probably best known for the game-sealing interception of Russell Wilson at the goal line in the Super Bowl in 2015. That wasn’t a fluke for Butler.
The former undrafted free agent out of West Alabama started every game that season and has been a full-time starter every season since for the Patriots and Titans. Just last season he tied a career-high with four interceptions along with 14 pass breakups.
7. CB Quinton Dunbar
Like Richard Sherman, Dunbar is coming off an injury-shortened season. Also like Sherman, Dunbar had a great season the year before, starting a career-high 11 games. Unlike Sherman, Dunbar is still in his 20s. He’ll turn 29 in July. Dunbar played wide receiver in college, so he went through a learning curve his first few years switching positions in the pros. Despite that, he’s put up 10 interceptions in his six-year career and has never been held without an interception in a season.
8. S Xavier Woods
Woods has been the Cowboys’ starting free safety the past three seasons. He fell through the cracks in the draft because he was a jack of all trades coming out of Louisiana Tech. But he found his home at FS and put up five interceptions in four seasons in Dallas. Though his numbers came down last season with no interceptions and just one pass breakup. Already with the Raiders is Woods’s former safety teammate Jeff Heath along with his former DC Rod Marinelli, no the defensive line coach in Las Vegas.
9. CB MacKensie Alexander
Alexander left Clemson after the 2015 season after having a huge interception in the National Championship game. He became the 54th overall pick in the second round in 2016. Meanwhile, who should take over as a starting corner at Clemson but Trayvon Mullen who was the Raiders pick at 40th overall in the 2019 draft. Alexander is a slot cornerback by trade, which means he could step into that role alongside Mullen in the Raiders’ secondary.
10. CB Casey Hayward
At 31, Hayward is a veteran, but not in the twilight of his career. The two-time Pro Bowler spent the past four seasons starting every game in which he appeared under Gus Bradley in LA. The first of those seasons (2017) he was named to his second Pro Bowl. Hayward was a key piece in the Chargers having a top ten pass defense in each of Bradley’s four seasons as DC.
With the entire Chargers’ coaching staff ousted, and the Chargers rebuilding, Hayward was cut as well. Seems no place better to finish his career but to follow his former DC to the other swanky new NFL stadium a few miles northeast.
Others notable free agent DBs:
S Jaquiski Tartt
CB Nickell Roby-Coleman
CB Bashaud Breeland
CB K’Waun Williams
CB AJ Bouye
S Tashaun Gipson
S Duron Harmon
CB Rasul Douglas
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