The Las Vegas Raiders are doing their best to keep up with the rest of the AFC West with the Chandler Jones move. What needs to be next for them?
The Las Vegas Raiders are doing everything they can to keep up with the rest of the teams in their division.
The arms race in the AFC West is getting out of control in 2022.
Patrick Mahomes’ arrival in 2017 was, at the time, almost no different than Jordan Love’s arrival with the Green Bay Packers in 2020. There were a number of people at the time Mahomes was drafted that counted him out simply for playing his college ball at Texas Tech. He was considered a project that needed time to sit and learn in the NFL, and that’s what he did.
Mahomes sat for almost his entire rookie season behind Alex Smith before becoming the NFL MVP in his second year. By his third season, the Chiefs were Super Bowl champions and Mahomes was the MVP on the game’s biggest stage.
The rapid ascent of Mahomes has forced every other team in the AFC West to make drastic changes.
The Chargers lucked out with Justin Herbert in the 2020 NFL Draft and are now making substantial moves to surround him with a title-worthy roster, bringing in Khalil Mack and JC Jackson in the 2022 offseason already.
The Broncos traded for Russell Wilson, taking them from last place in the division to legitimate Super Bowl contenders.
All the while, the Raiders had been pretty silent. At least, until the first day of the new league year.
On the first day of the new league year, the Raiders made a couple of huge splashes. First, they signed free agent pass rusher Chandler Jones to a three-year deal, landing arguably the best free agent available in the 2022 offseason.
They then sent the well-traveled Yannick Ngakoue packing to Indianapolis in a straight-up player-for-player trade for cornerback Rock Ya-Sin.
While Ya-Sin is a worthwhile dart throw for the Raiders, that move doesn’t signify the end of their aggressiveness, in my opinion. More moves must be made. There were rumors they were interested in James White, so running back help could be on the way. They still need additional help in the defensive backfield and the recent release of Nick Kwiatkoski means the Raiders could be back on the linebacker market as well.
Who is coming next for Dave Ziegler and Josh McDaniels? Let’s take a look at three moves they need to make post-Chandler Jones.