Las Vegas Raiders: The franchise’s all-time team
By John Buhler
Las Vegas Raiders all-time team: Inside linebacker
Getting past the middle of the Raiders’ all-time defense wouldn’t be easy. This team is absolutely loaded out on the edge with elite linebackers and pass rushing talents. Perhaps the best way to attack this Raiders defense is to run it right up the middle. Are we even sure that’s a good idea?
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It makes the most sense for the all-time Raiders to run a 4-3 base with only one middle linebacker. The guy manning the middle of the defense, probably rocking the green dot, is an easy choice. Three-time Pro Bowler (AFL All-Star) Dan Conners is the guy for the job.
Conners played his entire 11-year pro football career for the Oakland Raiders. He was a former second round by Oakland in the 1964 AFL Draft out of Miami. While he went in the fifth round to the Chicago Bears, he opted that it was better for him to ink with the Silver and Black.
He would be an important part of the Raiders defensive identity in the franchise’s infancy. Conners made his first AFL All-Star team in 1967 as part of the AFL Championship team over the Houston Oilers. The Raiders would fall to the Green Bay Packers in what is now known as Super Bowl II.
Honorable mentions: Archie Matsos (1963-65), Matt Millen (1980-88)