By all accounts, the Raiders had a very successful offseason. In free agency, they added a few starters on defense along with a ton of depth. In the draft, they selected three offensive playmakers in Henry Ruggs III, Lynn Bowden Jr. and Bryan Edwards.
Some of the national media is starting to get behind the Raiders as a “sleeper” team in 2020 due to all of the savvy moves they made this offseason. First up is Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox, who gave the Raiders a “B” grade for their offseason acquisitions.
The Las Vegas Raiders deserve a lot of credit for addressing needs while not chasing many high-price-tag players in free agency. While additions like safety Damarious Randall, tight end Jason Witten, safety Jeff Heath and guard Eric Kush aren’t going to turn many heads, they do give Las Vegas a better and deeper roster.
Knox praised the signing of veteran linebacker Cory Littleton as well, saying that he will have a “major impact” on the Raiders defense. Along with veteran linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski, they should be significantly more athletic on the second level in 2020.
While Knox loved what the Raiders did in free agency, he wasn’t quite as sold on their draft class. Beliving that the team “reached” on cornerback Damon Arnette, that moved the team’s overall offseason grade down to a B.
However, Knox believes the Raiders will be a “better” team in 2020 and their long-term future looks fantastic with Mike Mayock and Jon Gruden in charge. It will be fascinating to see how all of these moves work out this year in Las Vegas.
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