Raiders are a ‘best fit’ to land another former Dolphins defensive starter

 

You’d think that the Raiders’ signing one Dolphins defensive lineman would be enough. Especially with Maxx Crosby – and the fact that Christian Wilkins is Christian Wilkins – you’d think that the rest of the offseason would prioritize different positions of need (cough secondary cough).

But you’d be wrong. ESPN has other ideas, which they listed out in their latest NFL piece, “Best NFL team fits for remaining free agents, trade candidates.” They take a look at a few of the more intriguing free agents still out there, and assign them to teams Madden style. And they somehow list all three major corner free agents – Stephon Gilmore, Xavien Howard, and Steven Nelson – without sending any of them to Vegas, which is a bummer. ESPN doesn’t totally ignore the Raiders, though – they have Vegas splashing for yet another Dolphins defensive lineman: Emmanuel Ogbah.

Raiders are a ‘best fit’ to land another former Dolphins defensive starter

“Maxx Crosby is a blue-chip player, and I see Malcolm Koonce as an ascending talent,” the article says.

“That gives the Raiders two productive edge defenders to pair with newly signed defensive tackle Christian Wilkins.

That said, there’s still room for a rotational pass-rusher, which opens the door for Ogbah.

He logged five sacks in Miami last season, and he has totaled 42 over his eight seasons in the league.

You can never have too many pass-rushers when you play in the same division as Patrick Mahomes.”

On one hand, all of this is absolutely true. The Raiders have two stars on the defensive line, but their edge depth is suspect. It’s a little depressing to not even see a single mention of Tyree Wilson, but that’s life when your rookie year features 3.5 sacks and no starts. But Ogbah would make a ton of sense, and his familiarity with Wilkins definitely wouldn’t hurt. On the other hand, no! Address the secondary! Gilmore’s right there!