After this past Sunday’s loss to the Vikings at home, there weren’t a lot of positive takeaways for the Oakland Raiders. When you give up 30 points and over two hundred yards on the ground while only scoring 14 points yourself, it’s hard to excited about the team’s performance. That thought process doesn’t apply to rookie DE Mario Edwards Jr., however, who played great despite the loss.
Edwards Jr. was drafted by the Oakland Raiders this past offseason in an attempt to get younger and more explosive on the defensive line. When veteran defensive end Justin Tuck went down with a season ending injury, Edwards Jr. was called upon to take a bigger role on defense despite having very little time to adjust to the speed of the NFL. He has responded with very good play so far.
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Edwards Jr. came in against Denver and performed admirably in his first chance at long-term meaningful minutes, recording 6 total tackles and half of a sack. He has shown the ability to make plays with a forced fumble against Chicago, but Sunday against the Vikings he finally had a chance to put together a full 60 minute resume.
Logging 11 total sacks and a sack, Edwards Jr. was one of the few defensive players that could come away feeling positive about the game. And the numbers show that both he and Raider fans should be excited about his performance so far; even though he has limited starts this season, he is currently ranked the 19th best DE in a 3-4 defense by profootballfocus.com.
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The numbers get even better when you strip away the games he either didn’t play or played very little. From week 4 through week 9, he is ranked 11th best, week 7 through 9 the 10th best, the last two weeks 8th best and this past Sunday the 3rd best. What does this mean? It clearly shows that Edwards Jr. is getting better with each game he plays in, at least by pro football focus’s metrics.
It’s not easy to be ranked the 3rd best DE when your defense gives up 30 points and Adrian Peterson runs for 200+ yards. But it’s obvious that Edwards Jr. did his job and played very well despite the score and the Vikings offensive ground production.
Earlier in the season I wrote that Justin Tuck’s injury could spell the end of his Oakland Raiders career, especially if he wants to continue to be a starter in the league and a player on the Raiders roster steps up in his absence. It is clear now that with Edwards Jr. playing the way he has been, that statement is a very real possibility.
The Raiders and their defense face a fairly friendly schedule in the next few weeks, with the Lions and the Titans on the horizon. It should be a chance to bounce back from their current 2 game losing streak and get back on track for a playoff run.
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For Edwards Jr. and his continual development, it should also be a chance to further shine, as well as for Raiders management to be excited about the draft they had in 2015.