Oakland Raiders 2018 depth chart review: Linebackers
Fighting for last starting spot
Emmanuel Lamur
This third linebacker spot is up for grabs, and it appears Emmanuel Lamur is getting the early first-team reps at weak-side linebacker
Yes, it's early, but here's what the Raiders' first-team base 4-3 defense looked like in their first OTA practice - LDE Tank Carradine, LDT Maurice Hurst , RDT Justin Ellis, RDE Bruce Irvin; SLB Tahir Whitehead, MLB Derrick Johnson, WLB Emmanuel Lamur;... https://t.co/84fZHB2aNl
— Paul Gutierrez (@PGutierrezESPN) May 22, 2018
Lamur is familiar with the defensive scheme Paul Guenther is implementing given he played for the Bengals from 2012-15. However, Lamar has been more of a rotation guy only starting 15 of the 71 games he’s played.
Perhaps Guenther is just a little more comfortable with him at the moment. Lamur is also better in coverage than the next two he’s competing against which definitely gives him an advantage.
Nicholas Morrow
In a sea of disappointment, Nicholas Morrow was one of the few positive surprises last season. Considering that he was signed as an undrafted rookie, Morrow made a solid contribution at linebacker and on special teams.
Vic Tafur of the Athletic said the coaching staff does like Morrow and believes he will have a role.
The 22-year-old played 553 snaps at linebacker in 2017 which ranked 3rd on the team. There is still so much for him to learn and with a coach like Guenther I’m sure Morrow will continue to improve.
The question now is just how high of a ceiling does he have?
Is he a starter, a solid rotation guy or just another guy?
Marquel Lee
After getting drafted in the 5th round last season, the Raiders hoped Marquel Lee would solve the issues at middle linebacker. Why Reggie McKenzie continues to think late-round pick will solve the issue is beyond me, but once again it turned out not to be the case.
Lee suffered injuries, but even when on the field he was underwhelming. The big positive with Lee is that he is a solid run defender and could help compensate for Derrick Johnson run defense struggles.
The big problem with him is that I’m not sure he is athletic enough to be an outside linebacker. Which could restrict him to being a middle backer only. The natural tendency is to just move him to another role but that’s a lot easier said than done.