We are just one game away from entering the 2021 offseason for the Raiders. It should be another eventful one for Las Vegas as they need to dramatically overhaul their defense and find a new defensive coordinator to replace the recently-fired Paul Guenther.
The Raiders have needs on all three levels of their defense, so this should be an offseason in which they try to stock the talent level of the entire unit versus targeting one specific position. That is why they could be sitting in a great spot come the middle of the first round.
In a recent mock draft by Austin Gayle of Pro Football Focus, he has the Raiders taking another big-school defender in Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. The Notre Dame star is considered one of the best linebackers in the class and is an elite athlete with huge college production. Here is what the site had to say about the potential pairing:
“Draft need is irrelevant for Las Vegas. Every level of the defense could use an upgrade, the wide receiver position still lacks consistency and the offensive line is older/consistently battling injuries. Notre Dame linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah should be one of the best players available to Mike Mayock & Co. if they’re indeed drafting at No. 16 in April’s draft. JOK is a high-end athlete who can actually hold his own in coverage, an ever-elusive trait for the Raiders’ defense for the last decade-plus.”
Owusu-Koramoah and the Fighting Irish are set to play the Alabama Crimson Tide in the College Football Playoffs this weekend and he will have another chance to show the draft community why he is such a special prospect. On the season, he has totaled 11.5 tackles for a loss to go along with three forced fumbles, 1.5 sacks and one interception.
If the Raiders could add a player like him to their defense in addition to Nick Kwiatoski and Cory Littleton, they might have solved one spot on their defense. They have a long ways to go before the unit is considered passable, but adding someone like Owusu-Koramoah would be a great start.
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