Added weight makes Clelin Ferrell a dangerous weapon for Raiders

Clelin Ferrell has been putting on weight this offseason over the last 18 weeks, and he will prove to be a dangerous weapon for the Las Vegas Raiders.

Holding the No. 4 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, many expected the then-Oakland Raiders to draft Kentucky edge rusher Josh Allen. Going into the draft, Allen and Ohio State’s Nick Bosa were widely considered the best edge rushers in the draft class, and that position was one of serious need for the 2019 Raiders.

After Bosa went No. 2 overall, the Raiders were primed to add Allen, but instead decided on Clelin Ferrell, a championship-caliber defensive end from the Clemson Tigers. Ferrell was a key cog along a Clemson defensive line that produced multiple draft picks, but he was the leader of the group.

A two-time national champion, and the 2018 Ted Hendrick Award winner, Ferrell was expected to come in and make an instant impact at the NFL level. Instead, Ferrell struggled to get going, and finished the season with only 4.5 sacks, but he did play his best football down the stretch.

In comparison, fellow 2019 pick in the fourth round Maxx Crosby had ten. After a solid, but up and down rookie year, Ferrell is looking to be the one who turns heads this season, and you can expect someone who looks completely different to show up to camp this summer.

According to Vic Tafur from the Athletic, Ferrell has spent the last 18 weeks putting on weight, and is now 13 pounds heavier. That makes him a very dangerous weapon coming off the edge for the Raiders, who will look to contend for a playoff spot in 2020.

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Last season, it was fellow 2019 draftee Crosby that took the NFL by storm, racking up ten sacks in only ten starts, including a four-sack effort against the Cincinnati Bengals. For Ferrell, he caught a bad rap due to his inability to stuff the stat sheet, but it is not like he was not proving his worth with the Raiders as a rookie.

Ferrell had to battle playing out of position, and a sickness, which caused him to lose a bunch of weight. During his time at Clemson, he was used as a missile coming off the edge, and in 2020, with all this added muscle, that is going to be a problem for any quarterback that drops back to pass against this young, and talented Raiders defensive line.

The combination of Ferrell and Crosby will be one that terrorizes the opposition for years, as they both play with a chip on their shoulders, and play the game the right way. There is no reason why they cannot combine for 20 or so sacks per season as a tandem.

The Raiders organization is only two years removed from racking up only 13 sacks as a team, which was definitely the low point after the team traded away an elite edge rusher in Khalil Mack. After adding Ferrell and Crosby in the 2019 draft, as well as bringing in Carl Nassib in free agency this offseason, the edge rusher group is solid in Vegas, especially if Arden Key can be healthy enough to contribute as well.