Las Vegas Raiders 2019 Position Review: Defensive Ends

The 2019 Oakland Raiders defensive line was under a great deal of pressure to improve on a historically bad 2018 season. Let’s take a look at how the defensive ends fared.

The defensive end position was a great unknown for the Oakland Raiders coming in to the 2019 season. After trading away superstar Khalil Mack and waiving Bruce Irvin midway through the season because of his lack of effort, the Raiders ended 2018 with a mish-mash of players at defensive end and none were any good.

The pass rush went from respectable in 2017 to historically bad in 2018 as the Raiders only got to the quarterback 13 times, the 4th lowest total since sacks became an official stat in 1982 and the worst since the Chiefs recorded 10 in 2008. The Raiders tried to address the position in the draft and free agency but were largely unsuccessful as rookie Arden Key and veterans Tank Carradine and Frostee Rucker failed to impress.

Things were quite a bit different in the 2019 offseason however as the Raiders hit on both draft picks and free agents in their search for a pass rush. Rookies Clelin Ferrell and Maxx Crosby made instant impacts and free agent acquisition Benson Mayowa was a great value signing.