What can Takkarist McKinley and Vic Beasley Jr. bring to the Raiders pass rush?

What can Takkarist McKinley and Vic Beasley Jr. bring to the Raiders pass rush?

What is the current state of the Raiders pass rush?

The Raiders pass rush is among the worst in the NFL and is 31st in the league in sacks with just 11 on the year. That’s just 1.1 a game if you’re doing the math and the numbers are not kind to the Silver and Black in that category.

In terms of pressures, the numbers are not quite as brutal as the Raiders have put up 81 in 10 games which is good enough for 14th in the NFL. They are getting close to the quarterback but just aren’t getting home or hitting the passer enough to make a consistent impact. The one category where they are making an impact in is hurries with 47 so far, good enough for a surprising third in the NFL.

When you put all of the numbers together however, it paints a bleak picture of the pass rush which confirms the evaluation most fans can make with the eye test. In pressure percentage which includes hurriers, knockdowns, and sacks per dropback, the Raiders are 19th in the NFL with pressure on just 19.8% of dropbacks.

Some of that undoubtedly has to do with the fact that the Raiders blitz on just 16.9% of their defensive plays, just ahead of the league-worst Chargers at 14.2% who have still recorded 6 more sacks than Las Vegas. So with all of this mind it comes as no surprise that the Raiders would continue to roll the dice on players like David Irving and more recently Takk McKinley and Vic Beasley.