Oakland Raiders free agency 2018: Top 5 targets

3. NaVorro Bowman

The draft, quite possibly in the first round, might be the best place to get a true stud second level player to lead this defense for years to come. But Oakland might have to address this problem area in free agency as well before the draft rolls around. Bowman played very well after coming over from San Francisco, but his contract is up.

Keeping him around would make sense for numerous reasons. First off, he obviously played well, which is most important. But Bowman would also be the ideal leader/bridge player as a youngster with a lot of upside learns the ropes. This base 4-3 defense also fits Bowman’s skill set well.

Bowman is 29-years-old, so it would be interesting to see what sort of contract Oakland would offer him. But from what we saw last year and considering the state of this team and specifically the defense, the Raiders should keep Bowman in the Bay Area for at least another year and maybe more.