Oakland Raiders: All-Decade Team for the 2010s

Outside linebacker: Kamerion Wimbley

Kamerion Wimbley spent two years in Oakland after a productive four years in Cleveland. While the former first-round pick was known as a pass rusher and did play some defensive end, he was listed as a linebacker for the majority of his career.

2010 was his first year with the Raiders and he led the team with nine sacks. This urged the Raiders to lock him up long-term and they did offering him a five-year $48 million dollar contract.

In 2011 Wimbley lined up all over the place on the defense, playing middle linebacker, outside linebacker, and defensive end at times, managing seven sacks and 15. tackles for a loss.

Despite those pretty solid numbers, the Raiders released Wimbley only one-year into his big contract. He was only guaranteed $11.5 million and that is all he was paid, so it wasn’t all bad.

Wimbley then signed with the Tennessee Titans in 2012 where he was unable to duplicate the production he had in Oakland and Cleveland.

Middle linebacker: Nick Roach

This is where the list starts to get depressing.

Nick Roach was signed in 2013 after spending his first six years with the Chicago Bears. While he was on the roster for two seasons, Roach only played in one, as reoccurring concussion symptoms held him out for the entirety of the 2014 season.

His one season manning the middle was nothing spectacular, but it was still the best production the Raiders have gotten out of a middle linebacker this decade. Roach had 112 combined tackles to go along with 5.5 sacks, eight tackles for a loss, and his lone career interception.

Those numbers look really good, especially the sacks, but if you watched him play he was an above-average linebacker at best.

The only real competition for this spot on the list was with NaVorro Bowman who had a great career but was a shell of his former self in his lone season with the Raiders.

Outside linebacker: Khalil Mack

This may seem like a cop-out, but the only other options here were the likes of Quentin Groves, Aaron Curry, Miles Burris, Philip Wheeler, Sio Moore or Malcolm Smith. None of those players with the exception Smith were even good backups.

Mack played outside linebacker in 2014 within Dennis Allen’s 4-3 under-scheme where he played the same role the typical 3-4 outside linebacker does.

2014 was, of course, Mack’s least productive season being his rookie year, though he was still a force against the run as well as near the top of the league in QB pressures.

Both Wimbley and Mack were edge rushers, not true off-ball linebackers, though as stated earlier the Raiders haven’t had a decent off-ball 4-3 outside backer throughout the entirety of the 2010s.

That and the fact that he did win an All-Pro at two different positions puts him here.