The Las Vegas Raiders spent the offseason making a myriad of changes on both sides of the ball. After finishing with a 3-14 record in 2025, John Spytek couldn’t just sit on his hands. Instead, he and the front office handed out boatloads of money in free agency to improve the team.
They certainly raised the floor for the Raiders in 2026, and their additions at linebacker caught the attention of ESPN’s Ben Solak. In his latest article, Solak ranked the 10 biggest position upgrades around the NFL and labeled Las Vegas’ linebacker additions second on the list.
Las Vegas completely reshaped their linebacker room this offseason. They let Devin White, Elandon Roberts and Jamal Adams leave in free agency. To replace them, they signed Quay Walker, Nakobe Dean and Segun Olubi.
ESPN thinks Las Vegas Raiders LB moves were 2nd best position upgrade in the NFL
Walker got a three-year, $40.5 million deal, and Dean landed a three-year, $36 million deal just minutes apart. These two players were college teammates at Georgia and are now reunited with the Raiders, so not only do they have chemistry, but they vastly improve the middle of this defense.
Dean is on the smaller side, listed at 5-foot-11, but what he brings is top-notch play recognition skills and great tackling ability. He’ll likely wear the green dot and call the plays. While he does that, the Raiders will have Walker playing more free, allowing him to use his speed and size to find the ball.
It also helps that Walker has experience calling plays, as he did so in Green Bay. One area that’s worth watching is Dean’s injury history, as he’s missed serious time in three of his four NFL seasons. If that were to happen, Walker would give that unit a fallback option as a communicator.
Nonetheless, both Dean and Walker give the Raiders more athleticism, leadership, and talent in the middle of the field. Having two players come from organizations like Green Bay and Philadelphia is huge.
These guys have played in big games during their NFL careers while being a part of consistent playoff teams. That can’t be underrated and will help change the culture. In addition, the fact that Dean and Walker have history from their college days will help them hit the ground running.
Solak also called out that Las Vegas will switch to a 3-4 defensive front, but will look to have multiple defensive backs on the field when they go into nickel and dime formations. In that scenario, they will need two athletic linebackers to offset the DBs, and they have that with these guys.
Dean and Walker have found their way to the ball since entering the NFL. They will look to bring that same intensity to Las Vegas, and these acquisitions continue to get praise going into the 2026 campaign.
