NFL draft 2021: Linebackers who can help Raiders

It’s no secret that I think Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons would be a fantastic fit with the Las Vegas Raiders.

Overall, I think linebacker is a sneakily important position for the Raiders to consider addressing early in the draft. Parsons would be an ideal fit because he’d provide immediate impact and he’d be a great value.

Still, I think the Raiders could consider adding at the position at No. 48, in the second round. Yes, I realize there are more pressing needs at positions like right tackle and safety and, yes — Cory Littleton and Nick Kwiatkoski are entering the second of three-year contracts and they re-signed Nicholas Morrow this year, but they need to start thinking of the future at linebacker. The Raiders need to develop a young linebacker at some point and it’s been years since that has happened.

If the Raiders don‘t draft a linebacker early this year, it will likely be a big need in 2022. So they might as well see if they can fill a gap now if the situation is right.

There are a number of linebackers who could be available in the second round that could if the Raiders well.

Among the possibilities are Kentucky’s Jamin Davis, Baron Browning of Ohio State, Jabril Cox of LSU, Nick Bolton of Missouri.

Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images

Davis is zooming up draft boards and he may not be around when the Raiders select at No. 48. There is also Zaven Collins of Tulsa, but he may also sneak into the first round.

It would be interesting to see if the Raiders think Collins or Davis are worth a trade up. That would likely depend on what the Raiders do at No. 17 and how the draft board falls in general.

Still, for those you aren’t thinking that the Raiders could take a linebacker, it may be time to rethink that possibility.