4 Carolina Panthers the Las Vegas Raiders should worry about in Week 1
By Brad Weiss
4 Carolina Panthers the Las Vegas Raiders should worry about in Week 1
No. 3: Brian Burns, Edge Rusher
The team’s first round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, Brian Burns had a solid rookie season, starting five games, appearing in all 16, and collecting 7.5 sacks. With rookie Yetur Gross-Matos on the opposite side of him in 2020, the pressure is on Burns to round into a double-digit sack guy, and based on what we saw last year, and during his time at Florida State, he can be just that.
Burns is likely to line up on Kolton Miller, who is entering a third season that the team hopes continues his growth as a legitimate left tackle. That is going to be an interesting matchup to watch, because Trent Brown should be able to handle Gross-Matos easily, making Burns the one to worry about coming off the edge.
No. 2: Derrick Brown, Defensive Tackle
Derrick Brown was widely regarded as one of the best defensive tackles in the 2020 NFL Draft class, and there is a reason why he was a first round pick. This guy has the size, strength, and feet to not only clog up the middle on run plays, but also showed at Auburn that he can be quite disruptive in the backfield.
Luckily for the Raiders, they have solid interior offensive linemen, led by one of the best centers in the game in Rodney Hudson. Brown is definitely a player to keep an eye on, as they will move him around up front, which could cause a headache for the Raiders offensive line as the game wears on.