Las Vegas Raiders: Breaking down new offensive tackle Sam Young
By Justin Fried
The Las Vegas Raiders signed backup swing tackle Sam Young on Tuesday. We take a look and break down the Raiders’ newest offensive lineman.
The Las Vegas Raiders clearly have a type at offensive tackle — and new free-agent addition Sam Young certainty fits the bill.
A 6-foot-8, Young joins fellow offensive tackle behemoths on the Raiders’ roster in Trent Brown and Kolton Miller who both stand at 6-foot-8 as well. Even backups David Sharpe and Brandon Parker are a massive 6-foot-7 and tackle/guard Denzelle Good is only a measly 6-foot-5.
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The Raiders like their tall, colossal tackles and Young is just the latest addition to their enormous offensive line.
It was first reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport on Wednesday that the Raiders had signed the veteran Young to a one-year contract. The move was one of a long list of transactions made by the team yesterday including the release of DeShone Kizer among others.
The 32-year-old spent last season with the 49ers playing in four games seeing almost exclusively special-teams snaps. Young was originally released during final cuts but was brought back due to injuries before being released again in November.
A 10-year NFL veteran, Young has established himself as a reliable backup swing tackle playing for five different franchises over his career. Originally a sixth-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys, Young played in just two games with the team back in 2010 before a disappointing training camp led to his release.
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He would see his first taste of starting action with the Buffalo Bills playing in 12 games with the team in 2012 while making four starts.
Young would receive his most extended playing time starting six of nine games with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2014 and appearing in all 16 games the following season with three starts.
A three-year stint in Miami that included brief starting roles preceded his time in the Bay Area. And now, he finds himself on the team who just departed the Bay.
Young has never received a Pro Football Focus grade north of 65.0 with his best analytical season coming back in 2015 with the Jaguars where he earned a 64.8 grade.
He only qualified to be ranked in two seasons finishing as the 77th ranked tackle out of 82 back in 2014 and the 57th ranked tackle out of 79 in 2017.
Simply put, he’s a fine depth piece, but nothing more than that.
Young will compete with Sharpe and Parker for the backup tackle roles behind Brown and Miller. His veteran pedigree could give him an edge over his younger adversaries and it wouldn’t be surprising to see this be the end of the road for Parker who has disappointed immensely to this point.
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The Raiders acquired valuable depth in Sam Young and we should see an interesting position battle develop in training camp — whenever that may be.