Aaron Schatz of ESPN went through and gave an idea for one final move every team should make this offseason. For the Las Vegas Raiders, the move was to sign a free agent, but not Xavien Howard, Stephon Gilmore or any cornerback, not a running back, but a player who is a familiar face to the Raiders, defensive end Yannick Ngakoue. Schatz broke down the reason why the Raiders should reunite with Ngakoue:
“The Raiders have a superstar edge rusher in Maxx Crosby but a real depth problem behind him,” Schatz wrote. “Right now, the plan is to move Tyree Wilson inside, leaving Malcolm Koonce starting on the edge. Koonce had a surprisingly strong season in 2023, with eight sacks and 31 pressures against defenses that were busy double-teaming Crosby. Behind him, though, are all veteran journeymen and young free agents. If the Raiders bring in Ngakoue, they’ll have a steady veteran edge rusher who can rotate with Koonce and give the team something if Crosby or Koonce miss time with an injury.”
I do agree the Raiders could use some depth at defensive end, but it seems to be a similar situation to the cornerback room. Do the Raiders want to spend money on a free agent who could make them marginally better, or try to develop young talent at the position? The young talent being second-year player Tyree Wilson, who will be entering his first fully healthy season, and who the Raiders just spent their first-round pick on in 2023.