Oakland Raiders: 17 burning questions heading into the 2018 season
By Brad Weiss
Who starts at weakside linebacker?
The Oakland Raiders made a lot of moves within their linebacker group this offseason, bringing in some solid talent to the unit. The biggest story of the early offseason was whether or not the team would bring back NaVorro Bowman, who played so well after coming over from San Francisco during the 2017 season.
Well, Bowman is still unsigned, but the team did bring in a starting middle linebacker to play in his place. Former Kansas City Chief Derrick Johnson is expected to have a starting role in Guenther’s 4-3 scheme, as the team hopes he still has a lot left in the tank.
Next to Johnson on the strong side will be Tahir Whitehead, and I do not think there is any question there. The real question is who will be on the other side of Johnson, as there are a bunch of guys vying for that role this preseason.
Nicholas Morrow and Emmanuel Lamur are two favorites to win that job, but free agent signing Kyle Wilber will also see a lot of reps this summer. Lamur had his best season as a pro playing in Cincinnati back in 2014, when he had a career-high 59 tackles and two interceptions. Guenther arrived in Cincy the following season, but Lamur was mostly used in a reserve role.
As of right now, I like Lamur to overtake Morrow and start, but there is a lot of practice left before Week 1 of the NFL season. This is going to be one of the more exciting training camp battles to watch.