2018 Raiders: The 5 acquisitions that will make an immediate impact

Tahir Whitehead

Whitehead is in the same boat as Rashaan Melvin. Both players are coming off career years and will be able have an immediate impact. Whitehead will most likely be the starting linebacker in their base defense and possibly see looks in nickel. But Whitehead’s bread and butter is stopping the run, something the Raiders defense hasn’t had at linebacker until they acquired NaVorro Bowman last season.

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Only except Whitehead is better than Bowman because he can move laterally. It’s grown tiresome to see opposing running backs pierce the defense through the middle. The linebackers either shoot the wrong gap, miss the tackle, or more commonly can’t shed/avoid blockers. We thankfully won’t be tortured by that constantly anymore.

Whitehead keeps his head on a swivel. You have to if you want to be a top run stopper.

His addition comes at a perfect time with strong running backs in the division like Kareem Hunt and Melvin Gordon. Whitehead in pass coverage isn’t his strong suit, but that’s where Derrick Johnson comes in.

He is the pass coverage linebacker, while Whitehead is the run stop. They’re yin and yang linebackers essentially.