Raiders badly need injection of athleticism at this defensive position

The Las Vegas Raiders will undergo sweeping changes on defense this coming offseason. They are entering Sunday's Week 18 regular-season finale versus the Kansas City Chiefs allowing a 25th-worst 26.3 points per game. One position that especially needs an injection of youth and athleticism is linebacker.

Veteran linebackers Elandon Roberts, Devin White, and Jamal Adams have played the majority of snaps at the position this season. All three of them are on expiring contracts. There's been an obvious theme. They are aging assets who struggle to play and cover in space.

Pro Football Focus has assigned White a coverage grade of 35.8 this season. Roberts hasn't fared any better, earning a PFF coverage grade of 35.1. White and Roberts have both allowed a completion percentage over 80% when targeted in the passing game, and they've combined to allow nearly 700 passing yards and three touchdowns.

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General manager John Spytek may find it difficult to revamp this entire position room in 2026, but that's probably what's required. Even if head coach Pete Carroll survives this disastrous season and isn't fired, he'll need to admit his plan at linebacker backfired miserably throughout 2025. Linebacker is a major offseason need heading into free agency and the NFL draft.

This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: Raiders badly need injection of athleticism at this defensive position