The Raiders added some depth to their defensive line before the start of free agency. Per an announcement from his agency (Twitter link), the team has signed defensive tackle Andrew Billings.
Billings, 26, was originally a fourth round pick of the Bengals in 2016. In 47 games in Cincinnati (including 37 starts), he compiled 81 tackles, 12 QB hits and 3.5 sacks. His next stop was set to be Cleveland, where he signed a one-year deal in March 2020; however, he opted out of that season, keeping him in Ohio for the 2021 campaign.
The 6-foot-one, 328-pounder only ended up playing in six contests with the Browns, recording a single tackle before being waived. He bounced around during the latter part of the campaign, joining the practice squads of the Dolphins and Chiefs in November and January, respectively. He didn’t end up making any appearances for either team during his brief stints there, however.
In Las Vegas, Billings will add depth to a defensive line that could stand to be upgraded. In 2021, the Raiders gave up just over 114 yards per game on the ground, ranking them in the bottom half of the league. This move could very well be the first of many along the defensive front, as Quinton Jefferson, Johnathan Hankins, Solomon Thomas and Gerald McCoy are all scheduled to hit free agency in March.
The Raiders’ veteran interior actually played pretty well during the season, despite that rushing statistic. Their pass rush from that spot was better than the run defense for sure. The problem mainly was that, in addition to the run defense, the linebacker spots needed help outside of Perryman and one of the edge rusher spots lacked solid rush defense. Ngakoue has never been a high end run defender as is, and the loss of Damion Square (who had been playing pretty well) also hurt the Raiders’ interior defense.
Billings I remember being excited for coming out of college, and eventually became a good reserve player. He should help boost the rush defense, but will really help the linebackers shoot gaps by stopping up some of the holes inside.
If Graham is going to run a lot of 3-4 packages they’ll need someone to eat up space in the middle. Our defense was weird last season, it looked better on the eyes than the stat sheet. We definitely need to do better putting pressure on the QB and stopping the run this coming season.
I agree with that. The Raiders as of now are built completely as a four man front. Transitioning to a three man front will definitely need more big space-eaters. Billings, though he has the size and profile of a 3-4 big man, has only played in four man fronts in the pros, however. His size and strength might make him a good fit for a three man front, but the Raiders will have to change their line a lot of they want to operate as a three man base, as you pointed out.
BILLINGS is a MONTANA of a Man !!