Las Vegas Raiders training camp: 5 Players who will turn heads

5. Maliek Collins, DT

The Raiders signed three players from the Dallas Cowboys this offseason and it’s easy to say Jason Witten was the one who received the most attention. Witten is still a huge name in the NFL as he was one of the best tight ends in the NFL for much of his career.

Having said that, Witten is on the back end of his career and his signing feels more like another attempt by Jon Gruden to find an old player who he can try and milk one more season out of than a move that will truly improve the team.

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As for the other two signings, Las Vegas added safety Jeff Heath and defensive tackle Maliek Collins. Heath is a solid special teams player who can start on the base defense in a pinch, making that a decent signing. Collins, however, was a steal.

One of the many great picks Dallas made in 2016, Collins joined them via the third round that season out of Nebraska. As a rookie, he has 23 tackles and five sacks, showing that he can generate pressure from the interior. He did this while lining up as the three-technique, but Dallas also used him as the one-technique — although he wasn’t nearly as effective in that role.

Still, he finished his four seasons with the Cowboys with 84 tackles and 14.5 sacks. He played well enough to earn a bigger contract than Dallas wanted to pay and he headed to Vegas where he will rejoin new Raiders defensive line coach Rod Marinelli, who was his D-coordinator for his first four NFL seasons.

Collins is a player capable of winning with power and speed and he’s going to make a name for himself quickly due to that and his non-stop motor.