Oakland Raiders: Big names to avoid during 2019 NFL free agency

Ezekiel Ansah, DE, Detroit Lions

Are you starting to sense a theme here? Well if you aren’t, let me point it out for you — avoid players who can’t stay off the trainer’s table!

Then again, that’s only part of the problem when it comes to Ezekiel Ansah. Sure, he’s an elite-caliber edge rusher with the potential to fix the Raiders’ defensive end deficiencies instantly. And yet, when you take a look back at his last few seasons with the Detroit Lions, there’s reason for concern.

Yes, you could see his 14.5 sacks in 2015 or 12 sacks in 2017 and get all giddy at the idea of him signing with the Raiders. You could also look at the six sacks he totaled between 2016 and 2018, and get a little nervous. Or how about the fact that he hasn’t played a full season since 2015, including only seven appearances (two starts) this past year?

It’s always exciting to imagine landing big fish like Ansah during free agency. However, if the Raiders are going to spend their boatloads of money on a star edge rusher, they’d be better off doing so with someone like Demarcus Lawrence or Frank Clark.

Or better yet, why not use that No. 4 overall pick on one of the 2019 NFL Draft class’ top edge rushers, as the mock draft linked directly above suggests?