Oakland Raiders no longer same old losing franchise

Edge-Rusher

The first depth chart is out and it is now confirmed Mack is the Raiders’ Leo, a DE/OLB hybrid. Underestimate this move all you want but it will lead to more wins for the Raiders this year. If not for an interception that went through receiver Denarius Moore’s hands first, they might have beaten New England Patriots on the road last year.

Mack had plenty of attempts at rushing the passer in that game and dominated it with no sacks. His relentless pressure didn’t allow quarterback Tom Brady and the Patriots offense to get going. The final score was 16-9 with the eventual Super Bowl Champions struggling on offense because of Mack.

Now, he’ll be a full-time edge-rusher so expect double-digit sacks to come with those pressures this year. Mack is a dominant player and a major upgrade at edge-rusher over LaMarr Wooldey, who was there before getting hurt last year. The Raiders haven’t had a dominant pass rusher since Derrick Burgess in the mid 2000s so this is big.

Next: Middle Linebacker