Mailbag: What are DT options post-Wilkins saga?

Returning Raider Nation’s questions for the week

For better or worse, it’s never dull with the Las Vegas Raiders, and Thursday night’s bombshell about Christian Wilkins serves as more proof. In addition to training camp, that gives us plenty to talk about for this week’s Raiders mailbag.

A: Las Vegas claimed defensive tackle Keondre Coburn on Friday after he was waived by the Tennessee Titans. But Coburn’s addition shouldn’t stop the front office from adding another veteran if the organization wants to add a more experienced player in the defensive trenches.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the Raiders sign Quinton Jefferson in the coming days since he was in for a workout recently. Also, Jefferson had three stints with the Seattle Seahawks, all when Pete Carroll was the head coach. A few other names to keep tabs on are: Montravius Adams, Raekwon Davis and Marlon Davidson.

However, Las Vegas isn’t going to find a suitable replacement for Wilkins at this stage in the game. So, their best chance at getting a difference-maker at defensive tackle is if one of the young guys like Jonah Laulu, Tonka Hemingway and/or JJ Pegues steps up. Another option is seeing if Tyree Wilson can slide inside.

I can also see the defense shifting to more odd fronts where they have a nose tackle right over the center and two defensive end body types lining up inside of the tackles, with Maxx Crosby and Malcolm Konce on the edges as standup outside linebackers. That’s what they leaned on a lot when Wilkins went down last season.

The biggest problem is that they don’t have a quality nose tackle. Leki Fotu has been taking on that role so far, but I’m not confident in Fotu’s ability to plug up gaps in the middle.

A: Trade-wise, David Onyemata from the Atlanta Falcons would be at the top of the list for me. Atlanta drafted Ruke Orhorhoro and Brandon Dorlus last year, and then signed Morgan Fox in free agency this spring. So, Onyemata could be availabe since he turns 33 in Novemember and the Falcons have some depth at the position. I’ve always liked his skill set as a solid player in both phases of the game.

A couple of other guys to keep an eye on, Shy Tuttle from the Carolina Panthers, Dante Stills from the Arizona Cardinals and Zacch Pickens from the Chicago Bears. The latter two are younger guys who are getting pushed down the depth chart with their current clubs, but could be worth taking a flier on. Meanwhile, Tuttle has been around for a while and would be more of an addition to just get by this season.

As far as whether the Raiders will make a trade or not, your guess is as good as mine. Between signing a flurry of veterans and releasing Wilkins, these last few days have shown that John Spytek and Carroll are full of surprises.

Q: The Raiders seem to have made a lot of progress this offseason, but the center of their pass defense (linebackers and safeties) seems to be short on talent and hopefuls. What are your thoughts?

Photo by Jorge Lemus/NurPhoto via Getty Images

A: I don’t think the defense is completely devoid of talent and hopefuls at safety and linebacker, as Isaiah Pola-Mao, Thomas Harper, Amari Gainer and Cody Lindenberg are a few young guys who intrigue me. But that’s two undrafted free agents and a couple of seventh-round picks, so I’m not going to pound the table and say they have a ton of potential. Whereas I would with a guy like Darien Porter at cornerback.

Also, I do think those two positions are big question marks heading into the season, especially when it comes to defending the passing game.

Elandon Roberts is strictly a run defender, while Germaine Pratt is solid at best in coverage, and I’m definitely not the guy to talk to if you’re looking for Devin White hype. Jeremy Chinn is a box safety who can match up with tight ends, but shouldn’t be trusted against wide receivers and as a deep safety.

Those four were the big offseason additions in the middle of the defense, so as you probably can tell, I have some concerns about stopping the passing game between the numbers. And I didn’t even bring up the nickelback situation…

Q: Can the Raiders use three safeties as a viable alternative to employing a traditional slot cornerback?

A: On that note, Patrick Graham will likely lean on three safeties in nickel personnel this season. With the New York Giants, Graham used a lot of three-safety sets where Jabril Peppers moved around a lot, Logan Ryan switched between slot corner and safety, Xavier McKinney was the deep guy and Julian Love even got playing time as a fourth safety.

In other words, Graham has experience deploying several safeties and leaning heavily on the position.

I can see the Raiders using Chinn on the strong side of offensive formations so he can match up against tight ends while Pola-Mao and Harper rotate between nickelback and free safety. Also, Harper was primarily a slot corner in college, so I can see him taking command of that role this season.

Something else to keep an eye on during training camp and the preseason, before the team broke for summer, Pete Carroll teased that Pratt, Roberts and White will be on the field together in more traditional base packages. Obviously, it’s very early in camp, but I’ve seen reports/tweets that the first-team defense has been using those three on the second level. That would be going against the grain when it comes to recent trends in football, so I’m interested to see how, schematically, they plan on covering the slot during the preseason.

Q: Now that training camp is underway, does that mean that extensions for Kolton Miller and Jacoby Meyers are off the table?

A: No, they’re still on the table. Sometimes, it’s a little easier to get extensions done during training camp because the general manager and players are in the same place and can have conversations where the agent isn’t involved to help push things along.

Granted, some players will just defer to their agent and won’t talk about it, but it’s definitely not off the table to get a deal done. Across the league, it’s pretty common for news to drop about a contract extension right before the start of the season.

That’ll do it for this week’s mailbag. Thank you all for submitting questions and, as your weekly reminder, if you’d like to have your questions answered in a future column, tweet them at me, @MHolder95, email them to [email protected] or look for our weekly call for questions on the site. The latter will continue to publish on Thursdays. Sign up and go to the comments section.