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Oakland Raiders: 5 players who were a pleasant surprise in 2018

By Brad Weiss

OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 30: Gareon Conley #21 of the Oakland Raiders intercepts a pass intended for Antonio Callaway #11 of the Cleveland Browns and runs in back for a touchown at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on September 30, 2018 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 30: Gareon Conley #21 of the Oakland Raiders intercepts a pass intended for Antonio Callaway #11 of the Cleveland Browns and runs in back for a touchown at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on September 30, 2018 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 14: Maurice Hurst of Oakland Raiders looks on ahead of the NFL International series match between Seattle Seahawks and Oakland Raiders at Wembley Stadium on October 14, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 14: Maurice Hurst of Oakland Raiders looks on ahead of the NFL International series match between Seattle Seahawks and Oakland Raiders at Wembley Stadium on October 14, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images) /

Maurice Hurst

During the fifth round of the 2018 NFL Draft, the Oakland Raiders made one of the more controversial selections of the entire three-day event. With that fifth round pick, the team went out and drafted Maurice Hurst from Michigan, who was viewed as a first-round talent, but fell when a heart issue was detected at the NFL Scouting Combine.

While the pick may have been controversial, there was no question as to what kind of player Hurst was, and he was excellent in his first season in the league. Playing in the middle of Paul Guenther’s 4-3 scheme, Hurst became a starter for the Raiders, and ended the year with four sacks.

Based on his talent, it was clear that Hurst was going to be a good one at the next level, but he exceeded expectations in year one. He is going to be a building block on this defense moving forward, and you have to think the organization is extremely happy that they took a gamble on him this past April.

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