Javon Kinlaw
We saw sophomore defensive tackle Mo Hurst have a sneaky good year for only playing 50% of the defensive snaps. Part of that was due to the team asking Clelin Ferrell to play inside a lot more then he probably should have.
We also saw Mike Mayock bring in Maliek Collins via free agency who was among the best in the league last year in first move pressure off the ball and disrupting the middle of the field. Couple that with his former DC in Dallas coming in as the new defensive line coach and Collins could be the most underrated signing of the Raiders free agent class.
But they only brought him in on a 1 year deal, which means uncertainty at the position beyond this year is once again a potential problem. That is where Javon Kinlaw comes into play.
Out of South Carolina, Kinlaw is an absolute beast on the inside. Though he isn’t as polished as top-10 prospect Derrick Brown, he is easily the next best IDL in this draft. His ability to collapse the pocket and get pressure up the middle is not far behind Brown’s and something we are seeing the NFL covet a lot more lately.
If the Raiders were comfortable with where their linebacker group sat and Kinlaw was still there on the board, it would be hard to pass up on him. Pairing him with Hurst would give the Raiders a dynamic duo up the middle for years to come.