Raiders news: Tanner Muse confident he can make switch to linebacker

Las Vegas Raiders rookie TannerMuse played all over the field for the Clemson Tigers but is confident he can make the switch to linebacker full time

The Las Vegas Raiders made one of the more surprising moves on Day 2 of the 2020 NFL Draft when they selected Tanner Muse with the 100th overall pick. Muse played primarily as a safety at Clemson, but lined up at linebacker in Brent Venables’ system that thrives off versatile players.

He excelled at safety, and was named Third Team All-ACC at the position in 2018 while helping Clemson win yet another national title.

Muse would add another honor in 2019, as he was named First-Team All-ACC for a stellar senior season that would end in the national championship game, but this time in defeat. Though he was one of the more decorated and accomplished players in the draft, Muse’s tweener size and “stiffness” according to scouts hurt his stock.

The North Carolina native has the straight line speed to play in the NFL, which he displayed with a 4.41 40-yard dash time at the combine, but his tweener status had teams unsure where he would play. At 6’2” and 227lbs, Muse is on the bigger side for a safety but believes he is currently a bit light to play linebacker.

Muse was lucky enough to have his pro day before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, but was unable to attend any individual workouts with teams for that reason. In an interview with The Athletic’s Tashan Reed, Muse describes the unique challenges he’s faced as he tried to sell himself as an NFL linebacker:

"“It was tough because I really wanted to show teams that I could play linebacker and I could move around like a linebacker. I just really had to sell myself through Zoom meetings and everything that comes with this process. It’s been hard, but I think I did a really good job during it. It’s really paid off.”"

Muse is fully confident that he has the mental ability to play the position and in The Athletic piece he describes attending position meetings for safeties, linebackers, and even cornerbacks at Clemson so he understands all three position. He does however acknowledge that he will need to bulk up to play linebacker full time:

"“At linebacker, I’m going to be doing the run fits and handling dealing with more of the offensive linemen. I have to just really train myself physically to be able to take on a role like that where I don’t fatigue and I’m always getting stronger during the games and being able to hold my own.”"

The first impression of Tanner Muse is that he is a smart, hard-working player that the Raiders can trust to do all the work off the field to understand his new position. If the learning curve is steeper than he expects then he can still make an instant impact on special teams until his mind catches up with his body at linebacker.

The Raiders have had success going to the well of Clemson players during Mike Mayock’s tenure as GM and they have done so again, finding a player that Raider Nation should be excited about.