After finishing their 2024 campaign with a 4-13 record and in last place in the AFC West, the Las Vegas Raiders have made huge changes this offseason, including replacing head coach Antonio Pierce and general manager Tom Telesco with Pete Carroll and John Spytek, respectively.
In addition, Las Vegas swung a trade for Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith, watched Nate Hobbs sign with the Green Bay Packers and released Jack Jones.
Before the 2025 season starts, the Raiders should be looking to do more, especially on the defensive side of the ball, after giving up 25.5 points per game (25th) and 333.1 yards per game (14th) last year.
On Monday, Pro Football Focus’ Thomas Valentine put together a list of trades that should be made before or during this week’s NFL draft, and one of them saw Las Vegas sending a third-round pick (No. 68 overall) to Green Bay for cornerback Jaire Alexander.
Alexander, 28, played collegiately at Louisville from 2015-17, earning All-ACC honors in his second season with the Cardinals.
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The Packers selected Alexander in the first round (No. 18 overall) of the 2018 NFL draft and made him a starter right away. In his seven seasons, he’s appeared in 78 games, recording 287 tackles (12 for a loss), 70 passes defensed, 12 interceptions, four fumbles recovered, three forced fumbles and 1.5 sacks.
Injuries limited Alexander to just 14 games over the last two years, but he can still be effective when he’s out there. Pro Football Focus gave him a 75.2 overall grade in 2024, ranking him 25th out of 222 qualified NFL cornerbacks. He also earned a 78.3 coverage grade (16th) and a 57.8 run-defense grade (147th).
Alexander’s contract currently runs through the 2026 season with cap hits of $24.64 million this year and $27.02 million next year. With the recent run of injuries, they may be willing to move on from him, and considering the Raiders are set to start Jakorian Bennett, Decamerion Richardson and Darnay Holmes as their top three cornerbacks, they should be interested in adding the two-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro.
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