The Las Vegas Raiders are struggling to put things together this season, and a big reason for the continued struggles has been due to poor drafting. The team gave up on another failed draft pick this week when they waived safety Chris Smith II.
He was a fifth-round pick in 2023 and could only get on the field to play special teams. However, another team still thinks he has some potential. The Los Angeles Rams claimed Smith off waivers, which immediately puts him on their active roster.
In college, Smith was a key player for the Georgia team that won back-to-back National Championships in 2021 and 2022. Despite all of the Raiders’ struggles in the secondary the last few seasons, he hasn’t gotten much of a chance to get on the field.
Though the Raiders have had three different head coaches during Smith’s tenure, he’s had the same defensive coordinator in Patrick Graham. Perhaps he’s simply not a fit in the coach’s scheme.
The Rams are one of the best teams in the NFL, and the defense is playing at a very high level. Clearly, they saw something in Smith when he was coming into the draft that made them want to give him an active spot. It’ll be interesting to see if he can carve out a role in Los Angeles on an elite defense when he couldn’t even get on the field for a bad one in Las Vegas.
Pete Carroll Talks Secondary Struggles
The Raiders’ defense has looked good at times this season, but the group has been very inconsistent, especially in the secondary. The defense didn’t have a good day against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 11, and could’ve given up 50 points if the team hadn’t taken their foot off the gas.
Head coach Pete Carroll wasn’t happy with what he saw from the secondary.
“We didn’t tackle 3 [George Pickens] very well at all,” Carroll said after Monday’s loss. “We didn’t tackle the guy. He ran through us, and he made us miss. He broke tackles. He was more aggressive running with the football than I thought he was, and we’d seen some good highlights from him, but we didn’t think that it would happen to us, but he did it.”
Raiders Defense Needs to Bounce Back Against Browns
The Cowboys‘ offense is one of the best in the NFL, so any defense would struggle to stop them. In Week 12, the Raiders host the Cleveland Browns, and they have one of the worst offensive attacks in the league.
Plus, rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders is making his first career start against the Raiders. This should be a great game for the defense to get back on track. If they can’t put together a solid performance, then that’s a major cause for concern. The offense is a lost cause at this point, but the defense can still help keep the team in games. Carroll is a defensive-minded head coach, so if the defense can’t play well, that doesn’t bode well for his future.
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