Oakland Raiders: All-Decade Team for the 2010s
By Nico Di Fede
Defensive end: Khalil Mack
Duh.
Khalil Mack is easily the best player the Raiders have had this decade. In fact, he’s the best player the Raiders have drafted in two decades. Minus Charles Woodson, he’s the best player they have drafted in three decades.
And that isn’t just due to the Raiders rather poor draft history, this would be the case for a lot of teams.
Khalil Mack may have seemed to start off his career slowly if you just looked at his numbers, finishing his rookie season in 2014 with only four sacks.
But Raiders fans know he showed signs of dominance even then. As a rookie, Mack was being doubled-teamed and schemed against like a guy who has been an All-Pro for years.
He followed up his rookie season with a 15.0 sack campaign in 2015. That is the third-highest mark for a single season in franchise history behind Derrick Burgess in 2005 (which is surprising), and Sean Jones back in 1986.
That earned him not only a Pro-Bowl bid but he made history being the first player ever to make an All-Pro team at two positions (DE/OLB).
His dominant play continued as he once again earned Pro-Bowl and All-Pro honors in 2016.
His sack numbers dropped to 11.0, but he forced five fumbles which played a big part in the Raiders making the playoffs, as the defense as a whole was terrible but turnovers at key moments won the team a few games.
Mack was a player that fans envisioned would be a life-long Raider and so the backlash after Jon Gruden decided to deal him away could only be described as a meltdown.
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While he held out and left the team on rather bad terms, trading Mack away gained the team a plethora of draft picks, including Josh Jacobs, which makes it easier to have a positive reflection on his time with the Silver and Black.
Defensive tackle: Richard Seymour
Four-time All-Pro Richard Seymour spent four seasons in Oakland from 2009-2012.
While Seymour was clearly in the twilight of his career, he still produced solid numbers. In 2010 he had 5.5 sacks and 10 tackles for a loss which got him to his fifth Pro Bowl.
His sack numbers increased in 2011, getting six to go along with five tackles for a loss. For the second straight year, he made the Pro Bowl.
Despite having a decent stint with the Raiders, most probably think of his ejection that occurred in 2010 against the Pittsburgh Steelers when his name comes up.
Still, there isn’t much competition in the past decade when you look at the defensive tackles the Raiders have employed, so Seymour definitely deserves a spot on this list even if he was on the decline.
Defensive tackle: Tommy Kelly
Tommy Kelly spent nine seasons of his 11-year career in the Silver and Black and his most productive seasons came in the 2010s despite being in his 30s.
In 2010 Kelly had a then-career-high in sacks with seven. He also had 60 combined tackles, eight tackles for a loss and 16 quarterback hits. These were better numbers than teammate Richard Seymour, but he didn’t make the Pro Bowl while the former did.
His career-high of seven sacks was bested in 2011. Kelly got to the quarterback 7.5 times but had a dip in tackles for a loss with only 3.0.
Kelly never had great tackle numbers and didn’t always seem like he was giving it 100 percent, but those two years were productive enough to be considered second-best behind Seymour this decade.
Defensive end: Lamarr Houston
Lamarr Houston was never the flashiest player, but his play against the run was spectacular in Oakland.
The former Texas Longhorn was drafted in the second round of the 2010 draft and spent the first four years of his career with the Raiders. His highest sack mark (in Oakland) came in 2013 with six. That netted him a five-year $35-million contract from the Chicago Bears.
Most Raiders fans were upset that former general manager Reggie McKenzie didn’t decide to re-sign Houston coming off of his best season, but despite having a solid 2015 season with the Bears, it was the right decision to not overpay.
As said earlier, while Houston did not have the flashiest style of play, he was a solid presence on the edge who actually has a similar skill set and play-style as 2019 first-round pick Clelin Ferrell.