Huge Bounce Back Candidate For Raiders in 2025

The Las Vegas Raiders added another depth piece to the defense by signing defensive tackle Leki Fotu to a one year deal to bring him to Las Vegas. After a injury ridden 2024 season with the New York Jets, Fotu could easily be the Raiders' candidate for comeback player of the year.

The former fourth round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft broke into the league with the Arizona Cardinals and displayed a strong presence for his squad, even when he was primarily a depth piece. Fotu saw a larger role in 2022 and 2023, and dropped career high numbers over that stretch.

Between 2022-23, Fotu dropped 59 total tackles and 2.5 quarterback sacks in 28 games played. Fotu could easily see a large amount of time on the field behind Jonah Laulu. Laulu showed small sparks of his potential, but with Fotu's experience, it adds more confidence for the defense under Patrick Graham.

You have to believe that Fotu is going to be looking to come back to show he can still provide proper defense for his new team. The real test for Fotu this season is to see if he can compete for the starting role, and if he's able to do that, the bounce back year could begin in full swing.

Last season, the Raiders defense ranked in the middle of the pack within the National Football League in average total yards per game, allowing 333.1. While the addition of Fotu doesn't jump off the pages for the franchise, he does add the necessary insurance for the roster, and can positively impact the defense if he can remain healthy.