Las Vegas Raiders 2019 position review: Defensive Tackles
Overall Grade and Recap
As we have discussed the Raiders defense as a whole improved a great deal from 2018 to 2019 but it was still among the worst units in the NFL. The defensive backfield and linebacker corps were the more glaring weakness on the team but a dominant defensive line and pass rush can mask a lot of deficiencies elsewhere on that side of the ball.
Game-changing defensive tackles are few and far in between in the league and they rarely get the headlines unless they are all-timers like Aaron Donald, but they are often the difference between a good and great defense. Or in the case of the Raiders between a terrible and passable defense.
What did the Raiders do with 12th and 19th picks in past NFL Drafts?. dark. Next
The run defense was a point of pride for the unit and that usually begins with the defensive tackles so they deserve a great deal of credit there but there is still room for improvement.
Coming in to 2020, the Raiders have Hurst, Hall, and Hankins all under contract but they will need to improve the position group if they hope to give Derek Carr and the offense a fighting chance in Las Vegas.