Oakland Raiders: Top position battles to keep an eye on at OTAs

Defensive Tackle

The interior of the defensive line has been an issue in Oakland for the last few seasons. Offering little regarding stopping the run or creating a pass rush.

When that is the reality, changes are guaranteed to be made, and the Raiders did precisely that in the draft. Taking P.J. Hall in the second round and Maurice Hurst in the fifth round.

Them along with Justin Ellis and Mario Edwards Jr. will be the main ones battling for playing time. Ellis will most likely be one of the starters given the Oakland resigned him to a 3-year $15 million contract back in March. He does not offer much regarding pass rush, but Ellis is very capable in the run game. He is also reliable playing 60 of a possible 64 games in his career.

The other defensive tackle spot is entirely up for grabs. In the early stages of OTA’s, it appears Hurst is getting the first team reps.

Though I believe this is the right move, I’m sure Edwards Jr will want to keep himself at the front of the rotation. Edwards Jr has not really lived up to his second-round selection but did start 14 games last season.

The most intriguing battle will come when the Raiders go into their sub packages or obvious passing downs. Because it’s possible given the lack of pass rush both Ellis and Edwards Jr provide that we could see both rookies in those situations. Or possibly Treyvon Hester who I think offers some decent pass rushing ability.

In Cincinnati, defensive coordinator Paul Guenther rotated plenty of players on the interior outside of Geno Atkins. So, each Raiders player competing will likely get around 300-400 snaps.

But we’ll know who won the competition by which player are in when the game matters most.