Raiders Have Stability at Important Defensive Position

The Las Vegas Raiders should feel good about where they are at safety ahead of the 2024 season.

Dec 14, 2023; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Las Vegas Raiders safety Marcus Epps (1) reacts after forcing a / Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

The 2024 NFL season will be here before we know it. 

We will soon know when the Las Vegas Raiders will play the teams on their schedule. After that, preseason starts soon, and Raider Nation will see their team back in action for the first time since January. 

Before that happens, though, let’s take a peek behind the curtain and break down some of the Raiders’ position groups. One group that took a step forward last season after a shaky 2022 was the safety group. 

One of the biggest reasons for this was the free-agent addition of Marcus Epps. Epps earned more and more snaps as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles, eventually playing starter snaps and breaking out. 

He earned a contract with the Raiders and slid into the starting free safety role. Epps continued his impressive run of durability, playing in every game this season and over 1,000 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. 

Epps helped improve the Raiders’ defensive unit as a whole, both as a run defender and in coverage. Not only did he play well individually, but he also helped provide a stabilizing presence for young, budding star Tre’von Moehrig. 

Many Raiders fans have high hopes for Moehrig, but they may have come away from 2022 feeling disappointed by his play. He silenced those doubters in 2023, improving in coverage and fitting the run more consistently. He made more plays in the open field and picked off three passes. 

One of the many reasons Moehrig bounced back in 2023 was the addition of Epps, whose presence allowed Moehrig to play more freely. When he wasn’t confined to a role, he was able to make more plays. 

The Raiders should feel good about these two as their starting safeties. They are both smart, instinctive players who can fly downhill and lay punishing hits in the run game. 

Good safety play is one of the most important elements in the NFL. With so much speed at wide receiver in today’s league, defenses must be sound on the back end of their secondary. 

The Raiders are fortunate their tandem is, a majority of the time.

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