Oct 26, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Oakland Raiders defensive tackle Justin Ellis (78) against the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Browns won 23-13. Mandatory Credit: Ron Schwane-USA TODAY Sports
5. Justin Ellis
Oakland is expecting a lot of improvement out of second-year players like Carr, Mack, and defensive back T.J. Carrie, but fourth round pick Justin Ellis is another rookie from 2014 that is expected to make a huge leap in 2015.
According to Khaled Elsayed of profootballfocus.com, Ellis finished the 2014 season with a positive 4.9 grade in run defense and earned a spot on the 2014 PFF All Rookie Team.
Ellis earned 21 tackles, including two tackles for loss in 16 games in 2014. Although his statistics are not spectacular, Ellis consistently made his presence known in the backfield and often times disrupted the play enough to allow his teammates to make a tackle for a negative gain.
At 6’1”, 334 pounds the former Louisiana Tech University prospect has never been the athletic type to actively chase down the quarterback, but in 2014 Ellis was able to earn 10 quarterback hurries (third most on the team behind Mack and veteran defensive end Justin Tuck).
Although it would be easy for analysts to believe that Ellis is limited to just playing the early downs due to his sheer size and run stuffing ability, he still made an impact in the passing game and can continue to work towards becoming a well-balanced interior defensive linemen with a successful offseason.
Next: Potential Breakout Raiders: Keith McGill