Oakland Raiders: Tyrell Adams on his way to locking down a roster spot
The Oakland Raiders need to find some diamonds in the ruff to bolster their linebacker corps. How did Tyrell Adams put himself on the training camp radar?
Those who attended Oakland Raiders organized team activities and mandatory minicamp might have seen No. 58 running around swatting down passes on the practice field with the starters. No, Neiron Ball didn’t return to action. Tyrell Adams wears the number and made an early offseason impression.
Dating back to practices in May, the third-year linebacker flashed as someone to watch on the field. Silver and Black Pride’s Levi Damien noted a pass breakup on a short throw to running back Jalen Richard:
Tyrell Adams in af MLB with good looking pass defended on Carr dump to Richard over the middle. #Raiders
— Levi Damien (@LeviDamien) May 30, 2017
Before mandatory minicamp started, Adams relished in the opportunity to prove himself among his peers:
When you finally get the opportunity you've been praying for, will you be prepared? #GoForTheKill
— Tyrell Adams (@TAfromGA) June 12, 2017
The motivation served the former undrafted free agent well through mid-June practices. He continued to break up short passes and line up with the starters, per San Francisco Chronicle reporter Vic Tafur:
According to Raiders senior insider Eddie Paskal, Adams has been one of the top performers through mandatory minicamp:
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"“While Adams appeared in just six games in 2016, he’s shown a nose for the football throughout the Offseason Workout Program, and his effort Tuesday was consistent with that.”"
Grizzled veterans will tell you training camp takes the offseason program to another level with pads and real contact. Nonetheless, Adams has done everything in his power to go into the next phase with the lead on the weak-side linebacker spot.
The Raiders signed linebacker Jelani Jenkins to a one-year, $1 million deal, per Spotrac, but he missed multiple sessions and then worked with the second team upon his return. He comes into the position battle with far more regular-season experience than Adams, but head coach Jack Del Rio prefers to look forward than backward when setting up his starters.
Who’s Tyrell Adams?
Many Raiders fans still have one lingering question. Who’s Tyrell Adams? Why didn’t he show up on defense in six active games last year? The West Georgia product only took 81 snaps on special teams and played his first regular-season game on Nov. 27 against the Carolina Panthers.
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Before arriving in Oakland, he bounced back and forth between the Seattle Seahawks’ and Kansas City Chiefs’ practice squads. Those clubs, loaded with talent at linebacker, kept Adams behind the scenes as a player in development. On a Raiders roster lacking talent at the position, he could finally see daylight on defense during the regular season.
Barring a lingering injury, Jenkins should come into training camp healthy, but don’t dismiss Adams as a practice squad player. At West Georgia, he showcased exactly what beat reporters saw during camp this year.
In his last two seasons with the Wolves, he led the defense in tackles (173) and recorded 12 passes defensed with 19.5 tackles for a loss. Of course, it’s a Division-II program, but that didn’t stop wide receiver Seth Roberts out of West Alabama, who competed and earned a roster spot at a stronger position during the 2015 offseason.
The Raiders will likely provide first-team reps for Adams and Jenkins, which allows the best player to win the spot as opposed to giving one player a clear advantage lining up exclusively with the starters.
Next: NFL 2017: Each team's biggest question before training camp
When healthy, Jenkins has shown the ability to play his part at a high level. He put together a solid 2014 campaign, but his production dropped every year thereafter. Nonetheless, Adams could develop into another undrafted gem under the Reggie McKenzie-Del Rio regime.