Oakland Raiders: 5 Over-under predictions for the 2019 season
Raiders Sack Leader: 8 Sacks
The Raiders defense struggled with Khalil Mack, but his presence helped others find bright spots. He drew double- and triple-teams, which cleared the pathway for teammates in certain situations. The defense doesn’t have that elite player to open the pass-rushing floodgates for fellow defensive linemen.
The Raiders have a young group across the front line — most of them preparing to play in their first or second season. They’re still learning ways to win matchups in the trenches. Those upstart talents have to win one-on-one matchups or else defensive coordinator Paul Guenther will need to dial up clever blitzes.
The Raiders selected defensive end Clelin Ferrell with the fourth overall pick in this year’s draft. He’s a high IQ defender who uses his long arms (34.125 inches) and quick hands for leverage. The Clemson product logged 9.5 sacks as a junior and 11.5 during his senior term.
Now, going against NFL bodies, we should expect Ferrell to go through an adjustment period. He’s not the most explosive player either, so he may miss on a few sacks because of the accelerated game speed with quicker and bigger athletes on the pro level.
Last year, defensive tackle Maurice Hurst led the Raiders with four sacks. He’s primed to take a big step forward in his sophomore campaign, but Guenther will likely rotate him in a deep group. P.J. Hall, Justin Ellis and Johnathan Hankins should see a significant amount of snaps. If Eddie Vanderdoes makes the roster, he’ll steal some time in the middle as well.
Guenther told reporters Arden Key would play in a rotational role. “We drafted Arden to become a third-down rusher,” he said during a June 4 press conference (per Raiders.com).
Rookie fourth-rounder Maxx Crosby has more athleticism and explosiveness than Ferrell, but he’ll also need time to adjust to the pros. Assuming the Eastern Michigan product alternates snaps with Key, they could balance each other’s sack numbers — neither one posting eye-popping statistics in the category.
Over or Under? Under