Raiders news: Byron Young returns, Josh Jacobs still has not
By Brad Weiss
The 2023 Las Vegas Raiders roster has more depth, and talent than it did a year ago, especially up front along the defensive line. General manager Dave Ziegler did a nice job bolstering both the edge and the interior of the defensive line this offseason, including using two of his first three selections in the 2023 on the unit.
One of those selections was Byron Young, a powerful defensive tackle from the University of Alabama. Young got out to a slow start to his NFL career, starting training camp on the PUP list, but the coaches never stated it as being a big issue, and he made his return to the field on Sunday.
Now, Young will start his rise up the depth chart, and will have to pass up a bunch of veterans in order to carve out a role on Patrick Graham's defense in 2023. As the No. 70 overall pick, he will get a lot of opportunities to do just that, but Jerry Tillery, Bilal Nichols, Kyle Peko, Neil Farrell Jr., Matthew Butler, and John Jenkins are some of the names he will have to battle with this summer.
Now that he is on the field, the excitement grows as to what he can bring to the table.
Raiders need to get Josh Jacobs back ASAP
As we continue to march towards the regular season, the absence of star running back Josh Jacobs keeps getting more and more attention. In fact, star wide receiver Davante Adams talked with NFL Network's Bridget Condon and Brian Shaw this Sunday on Inside Training Camp, and reiterated what Jacobs means to the team.
Adams knows how the Raiders get it done on offense, and without Jacobs in the fold, that is going to be hard to do. Here is what he had to say:
""You've got to have somebody back there who's a dog if you're going to give it to him over 300 times. So not having him right now is obviously something I'm not happy with.""
- Davante Adams on Inside Training Camp
Right now, the Raiders have second-year running back Zamir White penciled in as the No. 1 guy on the depth chart, but he does not have the ability, or experience Jacobs does. In fact, White has never carried the ball more than 160 times in a season during his time at Georgia, so while he has fresh legs, he has never had to do what Jacobs has been asked to.
The defense looks solid this summer, and the weapons are there on offense, but without Jacobs, I find it is going to be very hard for the Raiders to do what they want on the offensive side of the ball. It is time figure out a way to get him back at camp.
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