Silver And Black Pride
Las Vegas Raiders ILB Devin White broke the Raiders single season tackle record after logging 11 tackles vs Houston on Sunday in a 23-21 loss bringing his season total to 160 tackles and just the 12th player since 2019 to record 160+ tackles in a single season. White has logged a total 160 tackles, 10 TFL, sack, 4 QB Hits, INT, 2 PBU, and forced fumble this season. Without his game vs the Titans, White has failed to log a sack or forced turnover this season. Despite his production, the near 28 year old linebacker has struggled immensely at times with a near NFL leading 24 missed tackles (13% rate) while allowing the most receptions (71), on the most targets (88) of any linebacker this season with the highest reception rate allowed (81%). In addition he’s allowed the 3rd most yardage (533) though he’s allowed just one touchdown and a 92 QBR.
The Raiders signed White to a 1 year, 1.125 league minimum contract this season and the former All-Pro ILB has turned in a strong season on the stat sheet, but his film does not share the same message. White has consistently missed his assignments in the run game, abandoned passing windows, had instances of lacking effort, and also been a below average linebacker across the board. High tackle numbers often indicate a players struggles in terms of coverage, and White’s average depth of tackle has been 5.7 yards the lowest of all top 25 tackle leaders. White has been successful in stints as a run defender with good athletic ability, downhill trigger, and instincts against the run. White’s success has been very limited and doesn’t showcase much going forward as a starting caliber linebacker for the Raiders, or possibly most of the NFL as well.
The 2026 linebacker free agent class is fairly strong with notable names Devin Lloyd, Demario Davis, Kaden Elliss, and Alex Singleton leading the way. Additionally, some other notable names including Lavonte David, Bobby Wagner, Quay Walker, Germaine Pratt (blast from the past), Matt Milano, D’Marco Jackson, Leo Chenal, and Nakobe Dean among many others will be slated to hit the market. White currently projects as one of the lower tier linebackers to hit the market regardless of his production and snap counts. White currently projects to receive a 2 year, 14.5 million contract with 9.2 million guaranteed. Given his struggles in coverage and the notable lack of effort and run defense flaws that contract likely exceeds the value especially when given the other linebackers slated to hit the market for similar value at 7.25 million a season. Additionally, fellow Raiders ILB Elandon Roberts who has performed at a better level in the run and pass game along with having less flaws with effort on film, projects to only receive a 1 year, 4.4 million contract.
