Over the last decade, the Raiders have struggled to find competent linebacker play. They spent countless draft picks and free-agent dollars to address the position and yet, it’s been their Achilles heel on defense.
The Raiders thought they finally fixed the position as they gave out a huge contract to Pro Bowl linebacker Cory Littleton. At age 27, Littleton was just entering the prime of his career heading into the 2020 season. Unfortunately, Littleton didn’t quite perform to expectations.
For most of the year, Littleton graded out as one of the league’s worst linebackers. He never really fit Paul Guenther’s defense and at times, he was benched in favor of Nicholas Morrow.
So is there any hope that he can turn it around this year? In a recent article by Pro Football Focus, they did give some optimism for Littleton in 2021:
“Littleton did start to pick things up a bit over the back half of the year after returning from the COVID-19 list and started to gain more familiarity with the defense. His 66.2 overall grade over the final six weeks of the year marked a definite improvement over the 36.7 grade he produced in his first eight games with the team.”
The hope is that in Gus Bradley’s scheme, things will be simpler and more defined for Littleton. That will allow him to use his elite athleticism and range to thrive as a weakside linebacker. That should help him and given the way he did improve late last year does inspire some confidence. Still, it’s tough to be completely sold that he will be a Pro Bowl-level player or even an average starter next year until we see it actually happening in the Silver and Black.
The Raiders desperately need Littleton to get back to the player we saw in Los Angeles from 2016-2019. If he fails to do so, this might just be Mike Mayock and Jon Gruden’s biggest miss in free agency thus far. Needless to say, the 2021 season is a big one for all parties involved.
