Who is the most underrated player on the Raiders’ roster?
That’s the question team insider Jesse Merrick discussed on his podcast this week and his choice was 32-year-old veteran Adam Butler.
“For me, the most underrated player on this Raiders team, both offensively and defensively, I think is Adam Butler,” Merrick said on the Silver & Black Sports Network podcast.
“This is a guy, and he’ll probably hate this video if he sees it, because he hates being called underrated and hates being told that what he does doesn’t show up on a stat sheet and all that stuff. But there are a couple years where it did show up on the stat sheet and if you just watch the games, you’ll see what this guy can do. His production for a defensive tackle is actually really good.”
“When you go back and look at it, he combined for 10 sacks his first two seasons [in Las Vegas],” Merrick continued.
“That’s according to ESPN. If you believe in Pro Football Focus and their stats, they actually credited him with 12 sacks in those first two seasons with the Raiders. Those are good numbers by a defensive tackle. He did only have one sack last season, but he also combined for 115 tackles the last two seasons. He is disruptive. If you turn on the tape and watch the games and you’re really paying attention; you’ll see that Adam Butler is in the backfield a lot.”
What’s interesting about Merrick’s comments on Butler is that many believed GM John Spytek would try to draft his replacement in the 2026 draft, but the team didn’t take a defensive tackle until the seventh round of the draft.
Most would point to Maxx Crosby as the leader of defense and even the leader of the locker room, but Butler’s presence in the locker room has grown and he would have been one of the key players to fill the void in the locker room if Crosby had been traded to the Baltimore Ravens.
In 2025, Butler signed a three-year contract extension with the Raiders and is under contract with the team through the 2027 season.
Along with Butler, the Raiders defensive tackle room consists of Benito Jones, Thomas Booker, Jonah Laulu, J.J. Pegues and Brandon Cleveland, who they drafted this year.
From the outside, it’s a group that doesn’t stand out, so it will be interesting to see if the organization and Spytek’s confidence pay off.
x: @raidersbeat
WHAT IS UNDONE MAKES A PLAYOFF RUN — A NEXT YEAR THING
Good stuff Josh, thank you for your work and keep slinging sentences.
These D.T.s’ will be a topic of conversation next off season again, but your first step back is to be competitive after you have been this bad. We don’t have enough beef here to stop the run in goal line or short yardage, which is an imperative of and for a contender. There is not a true two gaping, space eating D.T. here in the mix to stone wall, let the linebackers run free, make tackles and be a championship caliber defense. Look, we have won five AFC championships and three Super-bowls, we know it looks like and this is not it. The late edition of Benito was confirmation of this but he is a better pass rusher than run stopper. The Raiders will be in Cover 1 to stop the run and our new linebackers will get some headaches trying to cover for these light in the pants D.T.s.
Defensive Tackle, Wide Receiver, our Secondary and Offensive Tackle depth is shallow. Many of the penciled in starters look suspect in these areas and at this point in the off season you are hoping that some diamonds in the rough here will emerge. You are also hoping some young inexperienced players will develop because of their
“upside.” The truth though is we will have to go UPSIDE FREE AGENCY AND THE DRAFT NEXT OFF SEASON to get this done. Spytek has much unfinished work with this roster so this team will not reach the playoffs or double digit wins. We are going to spring some leaks in these areas and tested by the better teams here leaving us a shopping list to address next off season. This team will be improved but don’t get sucked into the hype, learn to discern and don’t drink the cool aid. It’s just football, but just win baby anyway.
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