Oakland Raiders: 3 Players to watch vs. Rams in Preseason Week 1

3. Nicholas Morrow, Linebacker

The Raiders defense struggled as a whole in 2018, which is why they focused so heavily on that side of the ball in the draft. They also spent some money in free agency as they signed Brandon Marshall and Vontaze Burfict. All the new additions should help them improve but there’s also a returning player who has been making waves so far in training camp that could help them improve this year.

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Linebacker Nicholas Morrow, who was undrafted out of Greenville in 2017, has been making plays this camp, which has gotten the attention of head coach Jon Gruden.

"“Morrow, to me, has stood out,” said Gruden via Evan Groat of Silver and Black Pride. “Morrow is really playing well. He’s finding the ball and he is fast and I’m really impressed with Nick.”"

Currently, Morrow is expected to be a reserve but he does have 10 starts over the past two seasons. He’s played in all 32 games since he’s been in the league and has produced with 100 tackles.

He’s a name to watch as he could make it hard for Oakland to keep him on the bench, even after paying for Marshall and Burfict. Fast, instinctive linebackers make defenses better, and that’s what this kid is.