Playoff push: Seven-step offseason plan for Las Vegas Raiders

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020 | 2 a.m.

The Oakland Raiders went into Week 17 with a chance to make the playoffs; next season, the Las Vegas Raiders should be even more serious postseason contenders.

How can the city’s newest pro franchise maximize its chances of making the playoffs in its first year at Allegiant Stadium? Here’s a seven-step plan that should put the Raiders over the top and into the postseason:

Cut Tahir Whitehead and Tyrell Williams

Cap space isn’t an issue for the Raiders. Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock are projected to have $57 million available for the 2020 season, according to OverTheCap.com, and that’s plenty of cash with which to work. But an additional $17 million in space would give Las Vegas a world of options of the free-agent market, and that’s what the team can free up by cutting linebacker Tahir Whitehead and receiver Tyrell Williams.

Whitehead was signed to a three-year, $19 million contract before the 2018 season and has been a disappointment. He recorded just 108 combined tackles last year (his lowest total since 2015), and he’s turning 30 in a couple months. The Raiders could get out of the last year of his deal while incurring just $1 million in dead money, so that move seems like a sure thing.

Williams isn’t as much of a lock to be cut. The Raiders are thirsty for outside receivers and Williams kind of looks the part if you squint (42 catches, 651 yards, six touchdowns), but he’s set to make $11 million in 2020. None of that money is guaranteed, so Las Vegas can save the full amount by parting ways with Williams.

Throw in the fact that the draft is loaded with top-end receiver prospects and it seems likely that Mayock and Gruden will use one of their first-round picks to replace Williams with a younger, cheaper, higher-upside receiver.

Neither Whitehead or Williams are difference-makers, but the amount of cap space they could prove extremely valuable. The Raiders should let both go this offseason, bringing their available cap space to nearly $75 million.

Sign Chris Jones

So now that we’ve freed up some additional cap space for the Raiders, what should they do with it? How about signing free agent Chris Jones, one of the best defensive linemen in the league? It’s a perfect fit.

Aside from Rams superstar Aaron Donald, Jones is the top pass-rushing defensive tackle in the league, with 31 sacks over the last three seasons (including 9.0 in 13 games this season). The Raiders are building their defense around young defensive ends Clelin Ferrell and Maxx Crosby, and is there a better way to enhance their development than by plugging Jones into the middle of the line and letting them play alongside a dominant interior force?

Building through free agency is dangerous, but Jones is 25 year old and should still have at least four more years of elite production ahead of him. Adding him won’t be cheap — Donald set the standard for defensive contracts last offseason by signing a six-year deal with $86.9 million guaranteed — and Jones should approach those numbers, but the Raiders have enough cap space to splurge on at least one top-dollar free agent.

Would six years with $80 million guaranteed be enough to entice Jones to leave Kansas City? The Chiefs have to conserve cap space for Patrick Mahomes’ upcoming mega-extension, so there are limits to what they can spend to keep Jones. He’ll be available. If the Raiders commit to out-bidding other suitors, Mayock and Gruden would be enhancing their own team while weakening a division rival in the process.

The Raiders’ biggest obstacle to making the playoffs is their defense. Adding Jones would be a good way to spark a turnaround on that side of the ball.

Sign Joe Schobert or Cory Littleton

Opposing offenses feasted by throwing into the middle of the field in 2019; for the season, opposing tight ends caught 73 passes for 877 yards and 10 touchdowns against the Raiders. Those are Pro Bowl numbers. Running backs also hurt them in the passing game, as opposing backs caught 90 balls for 797 yards and six touchdowns.

A coverage linebacker is an absolute necessity if the Raiders are serious about improving the defense to the point of making a playoff push. Fortunately, there are two elite ‘backers available on the free agent market in Joe Schobert and Cory Littleton.

Schobert intercepted four passes for the Browns last year and has graded out as one of Pro Football Focus’s top pass-defending linebackers for the last two years. He will be 27 next season.

Littleton will also be 27 next year, and he’s another top-graded pass defender at the second level, with five interceptions and 22 passes defensed over the last two seasons.

OverTheCap.com projects both players around the $8 million range. Would a four-year, $32 million deal (with upwards of $24 million guaranteed) be too rich for the Raiders? The cap space is there; pick one of Schobert and Littleton and pay him to upgrade the pass defense. It will be worth it.

Draft a cornerback in the first round

With Schobert or Littleton stepping in at linebacker, it frees up the Raiders to focus on a lockdown corner in the first round of the draft, either at pick No. 12 or No. 19.

The Chiefs’ warp-speed offense makes this selection even more crucial for Las Vegas, because this is the cornerback who will be lining up opposite Tyreek Hill, Mecole Hardman, Demarcus Robinson and the rest of the Kansas City wideouts two times a year for the next five-plus years.

The Raiders already have young potential starters in place in safety Johnathan Abram and cornerback Trayvon Mullen; if Las Vegas hits on this pick and lands a true No. 1 cover man, it will go a long way toward making the secondary competitive against the high-octane passing offenses in the AFC.

Keep an eye on Devin McCourty

While the Raiders’ focus should be on building a young, fast, inexpensive secondary to combat Kansas City in the long-term, they should also monitor Devin McCourty’s contract situation this offseason.

McCourty will be 33 next year, and though he’s still an elite coverage safety, it’s hard to envision New England paying him market rate at this stage of his career. If McCourty wants to cash in one last time with a three-year, $27 million contract (with $18 million guaranteed), the Raiders have the cap space to offer that without hindering their long-term defensive rebuild. And in the short-term, McCourty is still fast enough to cover the Travis Kelce’s of the world, and he would provide a veteran presence to an up-and-coming secondary.

Draft a wide receiver

Even before clearing out Tyrell Williams, the Raiders had a huge need for a playmaker in the passing game. Tight end Darren Waller, running back Josh Jacobs and slot receiver Hunter Renfrow form the core of a good passing attack, but an elite outside target would make everything work on a bigger scale.

There are a ton of draftable options depending on the type of receiver Mayock and Gruden prefer. If they want a pure speed guy to stretch defenses, there is TCU receiver Jalen Reagor; if they want an intermediate playmaker with the ball in his hands, Alabama’s Jerry Jeudy could be available; if they want a big-bodied red zone target, Clemson’s Tee Higgins might be a fit.

If Las Vegas hits on this pick, it would give the Raiders a complete collection of skill-position talent going forward.

Sign Marcus Mariota

With all those skill players lined up, it’s time to take a look at the quarterback position. Derek Carr is the odds-on favorite to be the QB when the team gets to Las Vegas and it’s unlikely the Raiders use a high draft pick on a passer, but it seems as though every statement from the front office has been lukewarm on Carr’s status. That leaves the door open to explore other avenues to potentially upgrade the position.

Unrestricted free agent Marcus Mariota could be that guy. The former No. 2 overall pick lost his job midway through last season, but the Titans were an obviously bad fit for his skill set. Gruden has a reputation as a quarterback whisperer, and he has a long history of giving veterans a second (or third) chance and reviving their careers. Might there be an opportunity for the two sides to come together to engineer a mid-career renaissance?

If Mariota can’t find a team to guarantee him a starting job in free agency, he will look for a situation that is set up for success — a team where he can come in and potentially take over for an underachieving starter (kind of the way Ryan Tannehill came to Tennessee and took Mariota’s job). From the outside, Las Vegas looks like a plum situation for a quarterback, as the Raiders have a strong offensive line and good skill players, especially if they use a top pick on a wide receiver.

Signing Mariota would give Las Vegas a veteran option to push Carr. If Carr falters early in the season, there’s a chance Gruden might be able to finally unlock to potential that made Mariota a star in college and a top pick just five years ago.

At a backup salary — say something in the range of one or two years for $7 million per year, which is comparable to the contract Teddy Bridgewater signed with the Saints last offseason — the 26-year-old Mariota would be a good upside play.

With a massively upgraded defense at all three levels, a difference-maker at receiver and a potentially strengthened quarterback depth chart, the Raiders should be able to make the leap from 7-9 to playoff lock in their first season in Las Vegas.