Over the last day I’ve watched a few Saints games to get a sense of new Raiders LB Curtis Lofton – what are his strengths and weaknesses and how does he project onto the Raiders unit? I came away with a mostly favorable impression of the 8 year veteran but with some definite concerns as well.
First, Lofton has a good build for the LB position with a thick lower body that allows him to anchor himself against blockers and stack them up and a stout upper body that gives him the functional strength necessary to shed the block and make the tackle.
He lacks ideal height for the position, standing only 6’0” tall, but weighs in at a solid 241 lbs. That weight helps him be able to hold his ground and stop the push of the offensive linemen or tight ends that he faced.
I thought for the most part Lofton’s natural instincts were good. He located the ball quickly and was able to get to his assignment without issue. When he uses proper technique and gets his arms up, he can defeat an offensive lineman’s punch and was able to shed the lineman or tight end and get to the ball carrier.
There were a few occasions in which he allowed the blocker to get his arms inside to Lofton’s pads and that allowed the blocker to move Lofton out of the play.
Lofton lacks a good burst and this is particularly noticeable when he is asked to drop into coverage – something that Rob Ryan had him do a surprising amount in New Orleans.
When he dropped into coverage, Lofton would frequently be covering the middle zone of the field, to cover crossing routes and running backs who came out from the backfield into coverage.
When covering these routes, he had a number of issues. If he was able to see a crossing route starting to develop, he could usually get himself up to speed in time to make a play. He was most able to do this against slower tight ends, like Heath Miller.
Where he really struggled, however, was covering a running back who was coming straight out of the backfield. In that case, the RB would frequently be headed almost straight for him and then would either break left or right to go into a an out route towards the sideline. When Lofton was not able to anticipate which direction the play was going to go, he lacked the sufficient burst to match the running back’s speed and the running back would frequently be wide open once he made his cut for an easy check down throw by the quarterback.
Lofton’s success or failure really comes down to how the team decides to use him. I think he would be most successful as a two down linebacker who comes off the field on passing downs so that his coverage opportunities are limited. The team did this with Miles Burris as the year progressed and it became clear that he was hurting the team more than he is helping.
Despite any flaws he has, he is significantly better than last year’s MLB for the Raiders, Miles Burris. He shows solid instincts and a nose for the ball. He also is not the liability in coverage than Burris was, although Lofton does have some opportunities for improvement, there.
I look forward to seeing Lofton play for Oakland this year and I’m cautiously optimistic as to his chances. I find it highly unlikely that he would be any worse that Burris was at MLB last year and from that standpoint I think he offers quite a bit in the way of improvement. I also think that, if used correctly, he can be a foundational defensive player for the young team.
If I’m wrong about Lofton, however, the team will not be in too bad a fix with him thanks to Reggie McKenzie negotiating a front-heavy contract.
Like with several other contacts that McKenzie negotiated this offseason, Lofton’s contract called for a roster bonus instead of a signing bonus. This means that the entire bonus, $3.5 million in this case, will reflect against 2015’s salary cap instead of being spread over multiple seasons like a signing bonus would be.
Lofton’s $3.5 million roster bonus combined with his $3 million base salary and a $100,000 workout bonus gives him a $6.6 million salary cap presence in 2015. If he does not play up to par in 2015, however, all of his guaranteed money will have been paid and no longer reflecting on the salary cap in future years and so the team could cut him at any time after 2015 with no dead money to show for it.
Here is a breakdown of his 3 year contract, courtesy of Spotrac:
| Year | Base Salary | Roster Bonus | Workout Bonus | Cap Hit | Dead Cap | |
| 2015 | $3,000,000 | $3,500,000 | $100,000 | $6,600,000 | $6,500,000 | |
| 2016 | $5,350,000 | – | $100,000 | $5,450,000 | – | |
| 2017 | $5,850,000 | – | $100,000 | $5,950,000 | – |
Lofton fits the mold of what McKenie was looking for this offseason: still relatively young at 28, decent size and speed, a good work ethic, and a history of production (he’s had over 100 tackles in each of the last 6 seasons). While he may not be elite, he’s a solid player who can contribute to the team in 2015 and while he isn’t a slam-dunk sure-fire starter, he should be in line to see plenty of snaps and appears to have the best chance at the starting position as of now.
For more news or thoughts about the Raiders throughout the day, follow me on Twitter @AsherMathews
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