The additions of center Tyler Linderbaum and linebackers Nakobe Dean and Quay Walker provide a tremendous boosts to the Las Vegas Raiders roster. By swinging big during the initial wave of free agency, general manager John Spytek showed he’s building a roster that gives rookie head coach Klint Kubiak the ability to compete this coming season.
Landing prized free agents like Linderbaum, Dean, and Walker bolsters a roster in dire need of talent infusion. And also helps shore up deficiencies on the offensive line and defense, respectively.
As free agency continues, though, Spytek’s gameplan is abundantly clear: Improve all three phases of the Raiders — offense, defense, and special teams.
With Kubiak tabbing Joe DeCamillis as special teams coordinator, Las Vegas’ initial move of inking veteran kicker Matt Gay was expected. DeCamillis brought out the best of the 32-year-old in 2021 and 2022 during their respective time with the Los Angeles Rams. And Gay’s arrival ended Daniel Carlson’s tenure as the long-standing place kicker in the desert. This move was met with a combination of curiosity and fury. (For full disclosure and transparency, curiosity — and namely fury — for me arrives if Las Vegas doesn’t add a kicker late or after the draft to compete with Gay this offseason and preseason).
Then arrived the trio of: Wide receiver Dareke Young, fullback Connor Heyward, and most recently, linebacker Segun Olubi.
Raiders punter AJ Cole III’s reaction to the team adding Olubi says it all:
The special teams’ room in Las Vegas struggled mightily the past two seasons with blocked punts, missed kicks, and explosive returns given up on both kickoffs and punts, all of which resulted in former coordinator Tom McMahon being shown the door. And the trio of Young, Olubi, and Heyward bodes well for DeCamillis’ initial tenure as the special teams boss under Kubiak as each spent a majority if their time in the league in specialist roles.
Young is no stranger to the Raiders’ new head coach, having spent his first four years in the league with the Seattle Seahawks. His combination of size — 6-foot-2 and 224 pounds — and speed — clocked a 4.47 40-yard dash time — the Lenoir-Rhyne product rarely got offensive snaps for Kubiak’s offense but notched 156 snaps on special teams.
Using his physical gifts, Young became a special teams mainstay and served as an imposing gunner on punt coverage and he’s totaled 27 special teams tackles over his four-year career thus far, including a career-high nine stops in 2025.
The 26-year-old wide receiver also made the most of his opportunities as a return man with 10 kickoff returns for 322 yards (32.2 yards per return average) this past season, including a long return of 60 yards and a 43-yard return in the Seahawks’ Super Bowl LX win. Young was the gunner that recovered a muffed punt Seattle’s NFC title win over the Los Angeles Rams, too.
Flipping it back to Olubi, and the Raiders landed themselves a speed demon who plays with a frenetic energy on special teams. Clocking in a 4.45 40-yard dash time during San Diego State’s Pro Day, his electricity is present when the linebacker is on the field.
You saw Olubi blazing in and blocking Cole’s punt above and that marked the second swatted boot in his career. The 26-year-old special teams maven paced the Indianapolis Colts with 11 special teams tackles in 2025 and has 30 stops over his four seasons in Indy. Alongside that, he’s forced two fumbles and recovered two loose balls as a special teamer.
It’s that nose for the ball, determination, and energy that the Raiders didn’t have enough of in the special teams room and Olubi’s presence multiplies that exponentially as he is the fleet-footed maniac to go alongside incumbent linebacker, thumper, and special teamer Tommy Eichenberg (who led the Raiders in special teams tackles in 2025).
Olubi notched the most special teams snaps off the new trio with 362 in 2025 and 1,095 total in his four years in the league. In comparison, Young totaled 156 special teams snaps this past season and 697 total in four seasons while Heyward notched 290 snaps in 2025 and 1,124 in his four years with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Speaking of the 27-year-old Heyward, he’s expected to make a full-time transition to fullback with the Raiders after playing hybrid H-back (fullback and tight end) role with the Steelers. And the fullback spot is a position that Kubiak holds near and dear to his heart.
Heyward himself, holds special teams near and dear to his own heart.
In Pittsburgh, Heyward served as the personal protector for the punter and was a productive member of the kickoff and punt coverage groups. While “smaller” at 6-feet and 230 pounds, the Michigan State product is a physical and tenacious tackler racking up nine special teams stops in 2025 (28 total for his career) along with a fumble recovery this past season.
Expect Heyward to play for both Kubiak on offense and DeCamillis on special teams. And don’t be surprised if his participation rate on DeCamillis’ units being higher than on offense.
But it’s refreshing to see Spytek and Co. bolster all three phases of the Raiders’ game in the early portion of free agency. The trio in their mid 20s should foster competition and turn around a Silver & Black special teams group in dire need of improvement. Free agency continues and there’s also the 2026 NFL Draft in late April which provides the Raiders more opportunities to improve the roster.
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