Top 2021 NFL Draft needs for the Las Vegas Raiders

2. Safety

The Raiders took safety Johnathan Abram in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft and he has struggled to make a consistent impact on the field. Abram missed most of his rookie season with a shoulder injury and has not been impressive when he played this season. The young safety has obvious limitations in coverage and limits his ability to make an impact in the modern NFL.

In Bradley’s defensive system, the Raiders are primarily going to run Cover 3 zone coverage. This will play to Abram’s strengths as an in-the-box defender but they will need to figure out who is going to be their deep safety. Having a playmaking safety in the middle who can cover a lot of ground on the back-end is extremely important in a Cover 3 defense. Lamarcus Joyner may handle the role for the team but he is an easy cut candidate and the Raiders like to play him at slot cornerback.

Whether Joyner returns or not, the Raiders could certainly use a coverage-based safety and could easily look to fill that need early in the 2021 NFL Draft. There is unlikely to be anybody who stands out as a potential safety target in the first round, but safety could become a priority for the team as early as the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

3. Offensive Line

On the surface, the Raiders’ offensive line mix does not look too bad. That being said, they struggled with a lot of injuries up front this season and their lack of offensive line depth hurt them in a major way at times. The Las Vegas Raiders do not need to take an offensive lineman in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft but they should address the position eventually, especially if they lose Denzelle Good to free agency over the offseason.

Ideally, the Raiders would be able to find a versatile offensive lineman who can provide depth at both tackle and guard. They could use said player as a depth piece across the offensive line and groom him as an eventual starter wherever he fits best.