Have the Oakland Raiders done enough to improve the pass rush?

The Oakland Raiders had issues getting after the quarterback last season, and have they done enough this offseason to address that.

The Oakland Raiders had one huge need heading into the 2019 offseason, and that was to add pass rushers. They had a horrible 13 sacks in 2018, which ranked them dead last in the NFL by a mile.

They also had the fourth least amount of QB hits with only 36. With the offseason basically over, we can look back at the moves they’ve made and determine if they’ve done enough.

Of course, the biggest impact to the pass rush comes from the defensive line. If you look at the Raiders defensive line this year compared to last, it looks much different. Although not many players have left town, we’ve definitely added a ton of players. Our current defensive line includes the following players:

Alex Barrett, Quinton Bell, Maxx Crosby, Clelin Ferrell, Arden Key, Josh Mauro, Benson Mayowa, Justin Ellis, P.J. Hall, Johnathan Hankins, Maurice Hurst, Ronald Ollie, Eddie Vanderdoes, Gabe Wright

I personally feel much better about their defensive line, I think they have some good players that can contribute and get the job done, plus they also brought in a new defensive line coach, Brentson Buckner.

Coach Buckner helped Tampa Bay’s pass rush increase it’s sacks from 23 to 39.

Although the Raiders got more talent, and a better coach, for me the biggest issue I have with their pass rush is that it will come from young players, including Arden Key, Clelin Ferrell, P.J. Hall, and Maurice Hurst

With that being said, if the Raiders have to rely on our young players, we probably won’t be leading the league in sacks. At least not until these players develop. Hurst, Hall, and Key will be much better because they’re heading into year 2, but Ferrell will take a year to adjust to the game speed alone.

So have they done enough? Of course.

Think about this. The only way you can add great talent anywhere on your team is through the draft or by overpaying in free agency, and I’d rather not overpay for anyone. So that leaves the Raiders building through the draft, which is exactly what they are doing.

The unfortunate part of building through the draft is it’s a slow process. But look at teams that built through the draft like the Rams and Browns. It paid off for them big time. The Rams are a Super Bowl contender, and the Browns took a huge leap forward last year.

For Oakland, other then the young players, I do expect an impact by the vets. Johnathan Hankins, Justin Ellis, Benson Mayowa, and Alex Barrett should play a ton. And the forgotten player from two years ago, Eddie Vanderdoes, might surprise a lot of people.

He had the 5th most pressures on our team in 2017, as a rookie. The other 4 people ahead of him are no longer on our team, and he is finally fully healthy this year. And of course, players like Maxx Crosby and Quinton Bell will get there opportunity.

Although others think the Raiders most significant need is still on the pass rush, I don’t think so. Kristopher Knox from the Bleacher Report wrote in his recent article Every NFL Team’s Biggest Red Flag Heading into 2019 Season that Oakland has not done enough to fix their line, as he believes it’s there biggest red flag headed into this year.

Although Oakland’s line has to go out there and prove it, I think their line will end up being impressive. Especially if their secondary keeps playing at a high level. Last year they ranked 3rd best in completion percentage allowed at 66%, only behind Baltimore and New England. They were also 7th best in passing YPG at 242.