Silver Minings: PFF ranks Raiders secondary 30th in NFL

The Las Vegas Raiders secondary struggled last season and was one of the defense's weaknesses. It helped the unit become one of the worst passing defenses in the league in almost every metric.

The Raiders didn't seek elite upgrades in the offseason and went for steady veterans. They added Duke Shelly and David Long Jr., both first-time starters last season. Brandon Facyson was also brought back from the Colts, and there are rumors that the team is interested in Marcus Peters.

It didn't do enough to impress the writers at PFF.com. The website did its rankings on the best secondary in the NFL. It wasn't too kind to the Raiders, with the secondary ranking 30th in the NFL.

Shelley was a much-needed addition to the unit, as no other returning player earned a grade above 61.3 in coverage last year. The Raiders drafted cornerback Jakorian Bennett and safety Christopher Smith on Day 3 of the draft, but the team will need some much better play from the individual pieces if they want to improve upon their 31st-place finish in expected points added (EPA) allowed per play last season.

With the quarterbacks in the AFC West, the Raiders' secondary has to perform well for the season to be successful. The defensive backfield is young and filled with players who displayed promise earlier in their careers.

If they can take the next step in their development, they could over-perform these preseason rankings. Only time will tell if this happens this season.

In other Raiders links:

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• Fantasy football outlook for 2023: CBS Sports looks at the fantasy football outlook for the Raiders' skill position players on offense.
• Projecting the 53 man roster before training camp: Las Vegas Review-Journal tries to project the final 53 man roster for the Raiders in 2023.