Oakland Raiders top 6 acquisitions during 2018 offseason

5. Drafting P.J. Hall and Maurice Hurst in the 2018 NFL Draft

While the offensive line was certainly a need in the draft at tackle, the defensive line also had some glaring holes at tackle as well. Earlier in the offseason, the Raiders made a commitment to Justin Ellis, signing the veteran to a three-year extension.

Ellis is expected to start at nose tackle for the Raiders in 2018, but there could be a 2018 NFL Draft pick next to him in Paul Guenther’s 4-3 defense. The Raiders spent their second round pick on P.J. Hall, who is just a freak of an athlete from Sam Houston State. In the fifth round, the nabbed Maurice Hurst, who many believed was the best tackle in the entire draft class.

The reason for Hurst’s slide is well documented, as a heart issue was detected at the NFL Scouting Combine. Still, he has been cleared by both Michigan, and Harvard, and the Raiders, while planning to monitor it every year, have every intention of letting him go full-bore to earn a job this Summer.

Why the addition of both Hall and Hurst is so huge is that they can get some serious pressure in this middle of this Raiders defense. By bringing them in, the team added some guys who can take some of the pressure off of the edges in the pass rush, which means players like Bruce Irvin and Khalil Mack can eat.

Mack is a special talent, and has put up incredible numbers considering he has had literally no help on the inside. Hall and Hurst can help in that department, and if 2017 second rounder Eddie Vanderdoes can shake off his torn ACL from a year ago, the Raiders could actually have depth in the middle of their defense for the first time in a long time.