Raiders depth chart 2021: Las Vegas' projected Week 1 starters after roster cuts

Examining Las Vegas' new depth chart

By Jordan Dajani

Sep 2, 2021 at 8:26 am ET • 2 min read

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The Las Vegas Raiders have high expectations in 2021, and a talented roster that is beginning to take shape. This team made some intriguing additions in the offseason such as running back Kenyan Drake and defensive end Yannick Ngakoue, but will they be enough for Jon Gruden to record his first winning season in his second stint with the franchise?

Below, we will break down the Raiders' 2021 depth chart. While not official just yet, we have enough info to put out what the official listing should look like next week.

Rookies will be denoted with a (*).

Offense

Position	Starter	Backup	Depth	Depth
QB	Derek Carr	Marcus Mariota	Nathan Peterman
RB	Josh Jacobs	Kenyan Drake	Jalen Richard	FB Alec Ingold
WR	Henry Ruggs III	Willie Snead IV
WR	Bryan Edwards	Zay Jones
SWR	Hunter Renfrow
TE	Darren Waller	Foster Moreau	Nick Bowers
LT	Kolton Miller	Brandon Parker
LG	Richie Incognito	John Simpson
C	Andre James	Nick Martin
RG	Denzelle Good
RT	Alex Leatherwood*

Gruden has plenty of running backs to utilize this season with Jacobs, Drake and Richard. Drake is even expected to get some run at wide receiver, which leads us to the most intriguing position group for Las Vegas on offense. Ruggs is expected to be a starter and Renfrow will get touches from the slot, but what about the other starting spot? Jones has experience on the outside, but the Raiders also seem to have high hopes for second-year wideout Edwards.

The Raiders had plenty of offensive line turnover this offseason, as they traded away Trent Brown, Rodney Hudson and Gabe Jackson. Las Vegas did use its first pick on an offensive lineman, although many felt like they reached on Leatherwood. Still, he should be set to start immediately on the right side.

Defense

Position	Starter	Backup	Depth
DE	Maxx Crosby	Clelin Ferrell
DT	Quinton Jefferson	Gerald McCoy	Darius Philon
DT	Johnathan Hankins	Solomon Thomas
DE	Yannick Ngakoue	Carl Nassib	Malcolm Koonce*
OLB	Tanner Muse	Denzel Perryman	Divine Deablo*
MLB	Nicholas Morrow	Nick Kwiatkoski
OLB	Cory Littleton	Javin White
CB	Trayvon Mullen	Keisean Nixon	Nate Hobbs*
CB	Casey Hayward	Damon Arnette	Amik Robertson
FS	Trevon Moehrig*	Roderic Teamer
SS	Johnathan Abram	Tyree Gillespie*

The Raiders revamped the defensive line, as they added two new starters in Ngakoue and Jefferson. They also added an intriguing player in Thomas, who is a former No. 3 overall pick. It's hard not to be interested by the potential position battle at defensive end. With Ngakoue as an unquestioned starter, Ferrell and Crosby will be put in direct competition with each other. Both were drafted by the Raiders in 2019, but Ferrell was a No. 4 overall pick while Crosby was a fourth-round pick. Still, Crosby was the one who exploded onto the scene, as he recorded 10 sacks in his rookie season to go along with 47 combined tackles. Ferrell has recorded just 6.5 sacks in 26 career games. Both figure to get playing time, but they may be battling for snaps.

Speaking of competition, there should be plenty of that in the secondary. Las Vegas acquired the veteran corner Hayward, but also has Arnette, who the Raiders selected with the No. 19 overall pick in last year's draft. The Raiders could have a potential dynamic duo at safety, with the rookie Moehrig and then the physical Abram, who played in 13 games last season after missing most of his rookie campaign due to injury. This unit as a whole is going to have to be much better in 2021 if the Raiders want a chance at making the playoffs, and they will have a great shot of that if they can stay healthy.