Five Raiders storylines to follow as OTA’s begin

As organized team activities for the Oakland Raiders are set to get underway, here are five storylines to follow.

The Oakland Raiders are ready to kickoff phase three of the offseason program this week with 10 days of Organized Team Activities, also known as OTA’s. As we move one step closer to the start of Training Camp, position battles will start to heat up and players looking to make the roster will try to take advantage of their opportunities to impress.

Let’s take a look at the biggest storylines to follow as OTA’s get underway.

Who is the inside linebacker?

Sorting out who will be starting at middle linebacker is the biggest remaining question at this point. The current candidates include Ben Heeney, Cory James and rookie fifth round draft pick Marquel Lee.

Heeney was named the starter when camp broke last season but was ineffective and benched in Week 3. After starting twice in four games, he was placed on injured reserve with an ankle injury and should be 100 percent for the start of OTA’s.

Cory James, who I believe is the leader in the clubhouse for the job, started five games last season and showed flashes of his potential. James recorded 15 tackles in Week 4 against the Baltimore Ravens but saw his playing time decrease drastically after the signing of veteran Perry Riley.

And the third person who will be in the mix is rookie Marquel Lee. Many in Raider Nation were disappointed that Reggie McKenzie waited until the fifth round to select a linebacker, however, our very own Ted Nguyen believes that Lee is a superior prospect to Zach Cunningham, a name that was linked to the Raiders in many expert mock drafts.

Lee was not as highly touted as many of the other linebackers in the draft despite having a productive senior season at Wake Forest. In his final year in college, Lee earned All-Conference honors, totaling 105 tackles, 20 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks.

Of course, there is a chance the future starting inside linebacker isn’t on the current roster — meaning Perry Riley Jr., most likely. In an interview with NFL Network, Jack Del Rio had this to say:

"“I don’t know that we’ve adequately addressed our middle linebacker position, to be honest. I think we have some work to do there. The rest of our roster is pretty well situated, but we’ll be looking for a linebacker and we’ll continue to look, whether it’s the waiver wire, trades or available guys out there, veterans on the street. We’ll continue to look.”"

Whoever wins this job, Raiders fans everywhere are praying that they will be able to cover a tight end.