The Las Vegas Raiders brought in a load of talent on both sides of the ball this offseason. The Raiders' front office left nearly no stone unturned to quickly revamp its roster. That led to Las Vegas' 3-0 start, which has now leveled out at .500 heading into Week 9.

The strides Las Vegas made this offseason have produced instant, tangible results for the Raiders' front office and coaching staff. Yet that progress lets them move on to the next areas that need improvement.

Las Vegas made so much progress on its roster this offseason that the positions it needs help at most are glaring. Those roster weaknesses showed up during their four-game losing streak. That losing streak confirmed that coaching can only do so much; Las Vegas' roster needs more.

The Raiders may ultimately not be serious players at the deadline, but there are undoubtedly players on the trade block that could help Las Vegas win games this season. Below are two players that the Las Vegas Raiders should kick the tires on, with the trade deadline only days away.

WR Brian Thomas Jr.

Thomas has too much talent for Las Vegas not to at least reach out to the Jacksonville Jaguars to see what they would want in return for the young receiver. The Raiders' and Jaguars' current front offices worked together last season to complete a trade for wide receiver Jakobi Meyers.

Las Vegas will keep building out its receivers over the next few seasons and may need even more after the season, depending on what happens with Tre Tucker. Thomas would be a solid addition to the position group, helping open up the offense even more.

IDL Daron Payne

The interesting thing about both players listed here is that Las Vegas' current front office got an up-close and personal look at both players last season. Thomas had the best game of his career against Las Vegas last season. Payne also made his presence felt against the Raiders last season.

At the very least, Las Vegas' front office should do its due diligence on any proven interior defensive lineman who may be on the trade block. The Raiders owe it to their roster to at least see what the Washington Commanders' asking price for Payne would be.

Payne would not solve all of Las Vegas' defensive issues. However, he would be just as good as, if not better than, what Las Vegas currently has on its interior defensive line. After moving on from Jonah Laulu and injuries to Tonka Hemingway and Thomas Booker, the unit is thinning.

The Raiders' difficulty stopping the run stems from their interior defensive line. Las Vegas has been unable to find multiple interior defensive linemen who are both durable and dependable, which has quietly impacted the unit's ability to stop the run.

As the trade deadline approaches, head coach Klint Kubiak gave insight into how his coaching staff handled their defense's struggles against the run. Las Vegas' defense allowed the New York Jets to run for 140 yards in the first half before holding them to 26 in the second half.

“That’s something as a coaching staff and as players and as coaches that we’re working together to fix. It’s not going to happen overnight. Something that is going to take practices, it’s going to take experience, it’s going to take us putting our heads together and having a better product so that we’re not giving up those many yards on the ground,” Kubiak said earlier this week. 

“But the people that we have doing it together, our players and coaches, I believe in, and that’s a really important piece of it. We have each other’s back, and the thing I love about our defense is that when things didn’t go well, we kept playing."

“We got key stops. Made a huge play at the end with [Jeremy] Chinn, and in the NFL, it’s not always going to be pretty. It’s not always going to be how you wanted it to happen. But at the end of the game, it’s who won the game, and I think as a team we found a way to win.”

The Raiders face a talented 49ers team tomorrow.