Oakland Raiders: Rookie stock report following Week 3 loss to Vikings

Stock Down: Clelin Ferrell, Keisean Nixon

Clelin Ferrell has by no means been bad — in fact, he’s been solid in certain areas. The reason I say his stock is down is because he hasn’t made much of an impact when it comes to rushing the passer.

And that’s exactly what he was drafted to do at the No. 4 overall spot, while rookie edge rushers drafted behind him have been tearing it up.

While Ferrell has been solid setting the edge, he can get eaten up by blockers in the inside, and I noticed on two occasions Ferrell being on the dirt on run plays in this game.

In the third quarter, Cook was handed the ball and hit the gap Ferrell was responsible for up the gut. Ferrell could not disengage and Cook gained 25.

Ferrell did end up making the tackle chasing him from behind, but he also allowed him to hit his gap in the first place leading to the big run.

More from Golden Gate Sports

• Raiders: Rookie stock report following Week 3 performance
• 49ers sign new long snapper amidst a flurry of roster moves
• Oakland Athletics win Game 2 of Wild Card round with late-inning drama
• 49ers: George Kittle and Deebo Samuel cleared to return to practice
• 49ers expected to place DE Dee Ford on injured reserve

The Clemson product does continue to show a high football IQ and field awareness, making plays like this, being able to sniff out screen plays which is something the Raiders defense has struggled mightily against in recent years.

He also has shown a high motor and will make tackles on runs that go to the opposite side of the field regularly. To be clear, I am not concerned about Ferrell, especially as it has only been three weeks.

But it is hard to say his stock is going up or even neutral without much production early on while other rookie edge rushers like Josh Allen and Brian Burns have outproduced him and the standards have to be higher for the No. 4 overall draft pick.

After a terrible Week 2 performance where he gave up multiple big catches, Keisean Nixon played zero defensive snaps against the Vikings.

If that isn’t the definition of his stock being down then I don’t know what is. And until he sees the field on defense again or shines on special teams, there is nothing to talk about when it comes to Nixon right now.

As an undrafted free agent, he wasn’t expected to receive much playing time in the first place, so him getting no snaps this early in the season is not a big deal.

Hopefully he can get adjusted to the speed of the NFL and get closer to what we saw in the preseason in later weeks because the Raiders definitely need more production out of the cornerback position.