Las Vegas Raiders add Cory Littleton, target young defensive talent in free agency

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Wednesday, March 18, 2020 | 2 a.m.

There’s no secret where the Raiders were most vulnerable in 2019. The middle of the defense was soft, and opponents exploited that relentlessly; when the regular season came to an end, that weakness was the biggest factor in keeping the team out of the playoffs for the third straight year.

General manager Mike Mayock and head coach Jon Gruden recognized the situation and attacked that area of need at the start of free agency, using the legal tampering period to add two starting-caliber linebackers to help shore up the second level of the Las Vegas defense.

First they agreed to a 3-year, $21-million deal with former Chicago Bears linebacker Nick Kwiatkowski on Monday. Compared to the usual frenzy on the first day of free agency, the modest contract didn’t make national headlines, but Kwiatkowski should bring a steadying influence at outside linebacker in the Raiders’ 4-3 alignment..

Then came the move that did make headlines, as the Raiders lured linebacker Cory Littleton away from the Los Angeles Rams with a 3-year, $36-million deal that includes $22 million guaranteed. Littleton produced like a star for the Rams, and Las Vegas is paying him to keep it up for the next three years.

By rebuilding the linebacking corps in two days, the Raiders have set themselves up as an offseason winner and positioned themselves for a postseason push in their first year in Las Vegas.

A rundown of the Raiders’ defensive additions in the first two days of free agency and what the moves mean for the franchise:

Littleton is big addition

The Raiders were widely speculated as a potential landing spot for Littleton even before the season ended, and for good reason — Las Vegas linebackers were among the worst in the league last year when it came to pass coverage, and Littleton is regarded as one of the NFL’s best backers when it comes to defending the pass. Pro Football Focus ranked him as the top linebacker on the free-agent market and the No. 16 player overall.

Littleton notched 22 passes defensed over the last two seasons and picked off five throws and returned one for a touchdown during that span. He also has never missed a game in his four-year career. With that record of production and durability, it made sense for Las Vegas to splurge and use a good chunk of its cap space on Littleton, who will be 27 years old for the 2020 season.

His biggest impact should come defending backs and tight ends over the middle of the field. Last year, the Raiders allowed tight ends to catch 73 passes for 877 yards and 10 touchdowns, while running backs caught 90 balls for 797 yards and six touchdowns. That’s an awful lot of easy first downs for opposing offenses. With Littleton roaming the second level, those short passes should no longer be an automatic completion for quarterbacks.

Kwiatkowski could break out

Like Littleton, Kwiatkowski should upgrade the Raiders’ pass coverage in the intermediate area of the field. Though he was never a full-time starter in Chicago, his playing time increased steadily over his four-year career and he enjoyed something of a breakout in 2019.

Kwiatkowski started eight games for the Bears and allowed quarterbacks to complete just 59.5 percent of their passes when targeting him in coverage (22-of-37). He allowed a passer rating of 66.0 and just 4.0 yards per target; the Raiders will look like geniuses if Kwiatkowski is able to duplicate those numbers as a starter in 2020 for a salary of $7 million.

Pro Football Focus had Kwiatkowski rated as the No. 5 linebacker on the market and the No. 85 player overall. There’s a pretty good chance he outperforms this contract.

Setting the edge

Run defense doesn’t appear to be a glaring need for the Raiders, as they allowed just 3.9 yards per carry in 2019 (fifth in the league). But Mayock and Gruden still made a move to strengthen that aspect of the defense on Tuesday by signing former Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Carl Nassib to a 3-year contract worth $25 million ($17 million guaranteed).

Nassib is 6-foot-7 and mostly known as a run-stuffing edge defender. He played as a situational end in his first four seasons (less than 60 percent of snaps each year), and last year was his most productive as he notched 34 tackles (24 solo) and 6.0 sacks. He’s good against the run, but the question is whether his pass-rush production would spike if given more playing time, or whether Nassib is better-suited as a rotational player.

At 26 years old, there’s a chance Nassib could continue improving. As it stands now, he should team with second-year ends Maxx Crosby and Clelin Ferrell to give Las Vegas a good young rotation on the edges.

Flash in the middle

Maliek Collins hasn’t produced much in his young career, compiling just 40 QB hits and 14.5 sacks in his first four seasons (55 starts), but he did flash some intriguing pass-rush ability in 2019.

Collins started all 16 games for the Dallas Cowboys last year and finished as Pro Football Focus’s eighth-highest graded interior pass rusher. He picked up 4.0 sacks, 10 QB hits and six tackles for loss, and though his run defense is almost non-existent he shares a trait with the Raiders’ other free-agent acquisitions on defense — Collins’ best years are likely ahead of him, as he’s 25 years old and trending upward.

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.