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

1. The Horse Riders

So this final one is cheating because it’s two players, but the defense this year is going to go as defensive end Clelin Ferrell and safety Johnathan Abram do. Plus, it’s hard to separate the two after seeing them together on their Hard Knocks horse ride.

From that moment on, Abram stole the show. His dinner exchange with Derek Carr was great as he simply couldn’t pronounce the word ‘salmon’ and on top of that, he’s been a stud in practice.

Abram was known as a hard-hitter and has taken that approach to the next level. In fact, he was even told to tone it down some by head coach Jon Gruden:

"“His entertaining star turn aside, Abram will be judged by what he does on the field and he showed flashes of promise there, too. In fact, he showed too many flashes, getting a warning from Coach Jon Gruden for blowing up offensive players during a drill in which players weren’t wearing pads.” — Cindy Boren, The Washington Post"

While both these rookies were taken in the first round, Ferrell has more pressure on him than Abram does. Not only was he drafted higher, but he was called a reach when Oakland took him at No. 4 overall while Kentucky’s Josh Allen was on the board. So not only does he fill some huge shoes in replacing Khalil Mack, but he also will be compared to Allen for the next several years.

Both these rookies will get their first action this weekend and while their legacy won’t be known for a while, this is the first chance they get to make a good impression.