Is Denzel Perryman the best Raiders LB since Kirk Morrison?

Is Denzel Perryman the best Raiders LB since Kirk Morrison?

Younger Raiders fans might not remember Kirk Morrison

Hailing from San Diego St., Morrison was taken in the third round of the 2005 NFL draft by Al Davis. As you can imagine from Morrison’s draft year, the Raiders were in dire straits during that epoch. The organization had fallen on dark times following their Super Bowl loss in 2003 to Jon Gruden’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

However, Morrison came in and made his presence known.

He started 15 games out of the gate as a rookie. By the year’s end, he had accumulated 116 combined tackles, five tackles for a loss, two pass deflections, and two fumble recoveries.

As far as Morrison’s best season individually, it could be argued his best campaign was in 2009, though 2006 is a close second. In ’09, Morrison started 16 games and totaled 133 combined tackles, three forced fumbles, two sacks, and 10 tackles for a loss. In Perryman’s sole season with the Raiders, he has amassed the aforementioned 154 tackles along with three pass deflections, one forced fumble, and five tackles for a loss but no sacks.

You could argue these two seasons are awfully close in comparison, though Morrison delivered this production steadily over five years as a Raider. On the other hand, Perryman is having his best season ever. His combined tackles this season have surpassed his previous high of 73 as a rookie with the San Diego Chargers in 2015.