Oakland Raiders shake things up in post-Combine three-round mock
By Kevin Saito
Linebacker has been an area of need for the Raiders since man first discovered fire. It seems like it’s been years, maybe even decades, since Oakland had solid players in the second level of their defense.
They’ve drafted plenty of linebackers and many have had a very big impact on this defense – just not in a very good way. To be fair though, 2017 fifth-round pick Marquel Lee did show some solid improvement from his rookie year in 2018 and made some plays. He needs to make another leap of progression, but he’s not the total flame as some of the other linebackers Oakland has drafted.
This is where adding a talent like Devin Bush in the second round might make sense for this team. Bush, out of Michigan, isn’t the biggest – he’s five-foot-eleven, 234 pounds, but his size is decent. But he ran a 4.43 40 at the Combine, showing that he’s got blazing speed.
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Bush is solid against both the run and pass but it’s his size that will scare most teams off, letting him slide to day two.
He has the speed to run down the ball and stay with backs coming out of the backfield. Bigger tight ends may try to take advantage of his size now and then, but he’s athletic enough to make some plays on the ball. He has also proven very effective in getting to the quarterback in blitz situations, posting 10 sacks over the last two seasons.
The Raiders need fast, athletic linebackers as they’ve routinely been abused by short passes to backs and tight ends for years now. Bush is a guy who might just be able to help with that and would be a tremendous value pick in the second round.
*The Raiders have no third-round pick after giving that and a fifth-rounder to Pittsburgh in exchange for Antonio Brown.