The Las Vegas Raiders have done most of their heavy lifting when it comes to revamping their roster this offseason, but the front office is still hard at work looking to make moves as training camp rolls forward. Case in point, the team traded cornerback Jakorian Bennett to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for defensive tackle Thomas Booker IV on Monday night.
After releasing Christian Wilkins, the Raiders needed some help along their defensive line, which is why they had an incentive to go out and make this move. According to one NFL analyst, though, he believes that the team is the loser in this deal, even though they managed to go out and shore up an area of need.
Ross Tucker Thinks Raiders Lost Their Trade with Eagles
Booker is a former 2022 fifth-round pick who carved out a role on the Eagles’ Super Bowl-winning squad last season. While he only played 16% of Philly’s defensive snaps, Booker suited up for all 17 games, racking up 18 tackles, one sack, and one pass deflected. With Philadelphia losing some key players on its d-line, Booker seemed primed for a bigger role in 2025. Now, he could conceivably start for Las Vegas.
Bennett, on the other hand, is a former 2025 fourth-round pick who started seven of the 10 games he played in with the Raiders last season. Bennett generally held up well in coverage and recorded 26 tackles and eight pass deflections on the year. However, he seemed to fall out of favor early on with Pete Carroll and the team’s new coaching staff.
The Raiders considered Bennett an expendable option at cornerback, and the Eagles considered Booker an expendable option on their defensive line. However, according to NFL analyst Ross Tucker, these two players aren’t created equal, as he admitted he was surprised Las Vegas didn’t get more for Bennett in this trade.
“Here’s what Howie Roseman did, two things,” Tucker said on his “Ross Report.” “One is took advantage of a new coaching staff in Las Vegas that’s looking for bigger corners than Bennett. And also, the Raiders kind of have some defensive tackle desperation after the Christian Wilkins release. I’m a little bit surprised that the Raiders weren’t able to get more for Jakorian Bennett than this.”
Should Raiders Have Gotten More in Return for Jakorian Bennett?
GettyCornerback Jakorian Bennett.
The main difference between Bennett and Booker is that the former was a legit starting option for the Raiders last season. Booker, on the other hand, has never really started throughout his career. He will certainly have a bigger role with Las Vegas than he would have had with Philadelphia, but has he proven he’s capable of performing at a high level in such a role?
Conversely, Bennett could immediately slot in as a starting boundary cornerback for the Eagles come Week 1, as that was one of the biggest holes they needed to fill on their roster. Both teams addressed positions of need, but in Tucker’s eyes, Philadelphia got a better bang for its buck than Las Vegas here.
