Oakland Raiders: 6 Players The Team Needs To Show Up Big In 2017
By Kevin Saito
Very few fifth-round picks have the sort of weight on their shoulders that Marquel Lee currently has. It’s a weight that’s there simply because when it comes to inside linebackers, the Raiders are a team that’s had some of the league’s worst in recent years.
The Oakland defense has been victimized by opposing tight ends, running backs catching passes out of the backfield, and also by big backs running up the gut. They’ve been victimized simply because their inside backers weren’t good enough to stop them.
Curtis Lofton, Ben Heeney, Malcolm Smith, Neiron Ball – those are just some of the names that have cycled through Oakland’s linebackers group. Some of the names that haven’t been able to lock down that position group and help elevate the defense as a whole.
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Perry Riley Jr., signed after last season had already gotten underway, proved to be capable and effective for the team. He was solid against the run and the pass, and helped elevate the unit. And as of yet, the Raiders have not made a concerted effort to get him back into a Silver and Black jersey.
Which leaves Lee and free agent add Jelani Jenkins, as the team’s answer at the inside backer position.
It’s a lot of pressure to put on a rookie – again, pressure most fifth-rounders don’t typically have on their shoulders – but the team really needs the former Wake Forest standout to show up big. They need him to prove that he can help lock down the middle and be the answer the team has been searching for at the position for a good long while now.