This is the eighth piece in a series that will look at each position – the additions, subtractions, and pre-training camp depth chart as I see it.
Other positional corps in the series:
Wide Receivers, Tight Ends, Offensive Line, Quarterbacks, Running Backs, Fullbacks, Defensive Line
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times for the 2014 Raiders’ linebacker corps. Per PFF (Pro Football Focus), the Raiders fielded both the best and worst linebackers in the league in 2014.
The positive was obviously rookie sensation Khalil Mack who, despite low sack numbers, was widely acclaimed by media and other players for a relentless motor and his physical skills on the field. Mack earned a +55.3 grade at OLB, narrowly edging out fellow 4-3 linebacker Von Miller (54.0) of Denver. He also beat the highest ranked 3-4 OLB in 2014, Kansas City’s Justin Houston (51.1).
On the other side of the coin, Miles Burris was PFF’s worst ranked linebacker in the league in 2014 – by a wide margin. Burris’ -42.2 score was far and away the worst score in the league, almost doubling the next lowest scoring linebacker ranked by the site, Atlanta’s Paul Worrilow.
The Raiders made linebacker a point of focus for the off-season in an attempt to shore up the position for 2015. In free agency the team signed Curtis Lofton and Malcolm Smith, both veterans with prior success in the NFL. During the draft, they added Ben Heeney and Neiron Ball out of the Universities of Kansas and Florida, respectively.
They also added a couple of undrafted rookies after the draft in UNLV linebacker Josh Shirley and Virginia Tech’s Chase Williams although both will be hard-pressed to earn a spot on the roster.
Going into camp, the most likely starting group is Khalil Mack, Curtis Lofton and Sio Moore. However, that’s only if Moore is able to play at the start of camp, which is still in doubt at this point as Moore had ‘major surgery’ on an injured hip that caused him to go on Injured Reserve in December of 2014. He was out during the OTA portion of the off-season as he recovered.
In his absence, Ray-Ray Armstrong was inserted into the starting lineup during OTAs and he earned praise for his efforts and focus during that time. Many of the local writers believe that Ray-Ray’s praise was a way to keep Moore focused and hungry to get back into his spot although it’s probable that they wouldn’t praise Armstrong if they didn’t feel he was making steps. Sio has been a play-maker for the Raiders when he’s been on the field so Oakland’s best chance at success is when he’s out playing.
Curtis Lofton will get his first chance to play the Mike role in the middle of the defense and he will have the luxury of lining up behind two beefy starting defensive tackles in Justin Ellis and Dan Williams. Williams, the more svelte (relatively) of the two is still listed at 315 lbs.
The eight year veteran is coming off his worst season since coming into the league, according to PFF’s stat tracking system. It’s impossible to know how much of that was due to his own skill level and how much to outside factors including New Orleans’ use of a 3-4 alignment that may have been a mismatch for his talents.
Having watched some video of Lofton, I believe that he has decent instincts and run stuffing ability but that he is severely limited in coverage, especially against quicker running running backs who come straight at him out of the backfield and then cut suddenly; Lofton lacks the requisite burst to stay with speedy running backs and that is likely a problem Raiders’ defensive coordinator Ken Norton will need to scheme around.
Even with this issue, Lofton looks like a substantial upgrade over Miles Burris, who struggled at most everything that a Mike LB needs to do.
Running as the second team will likely be Ray-Ray Armstrong, Malcolm Smith and Ben Heeney but the exact roles aren’t as clear at this point. Ray-Ray will play as an outside linebacker because that’s his best fit but Smith and Heeney both have experience at MLB and can play OLB as well.
The best bet is that Smith will be the backup Mike, based on his veteran status and likely ability to pick up the defensive scheme, assignments, and terminology quicker. That will allow Heeney to focus on learning one role instead of trying to get the entire defense lined up correctly and effectively.
Barring a big surprise those six – Mack, S. Moore, Lofton, Armstrong, Smith and Heeney – have the best shot at making the team. Based on recent history, there will likely be an injury somewhere in the linebacker corps, which would push up another player to be likely to make the squad.
Neiron Ball, drafted along with Heeney in April, will almost certainly make the team as he’s a young investment and the team wouldn’t have taken him if they didn’t like his skill-set. If the top six players remain healthy, he’ll likely be a seventh linebacker for the squad. If there is an injury at the top of the depth chart, he’s the most likely player to be slotted to fit the void.
Additionally, the team is carrying Spencer Hadley, Horace Miller and the fore-mentioned rookie free agents Josh Shirley and Chase Williams. It is anyone’s guess which of these players will shake out to potentially move into a roster spot if injuries strike.
Finally, there is rookie Max Valles who, at 6’5″ and 251 lbs is going to get his Raiders start at defensive end but who played LB at Virginia and could be called upon to play again if needed for depth.
After last year’s disaster at linebacker (see week 17 when, due to injuries, the starting linebacker corps was Mack, Burris and Armstrong and Burris was quickly replaced by an even-worse Bojay Filimoeatu), the team really wanted to make a focused investment to improve the linebacker corps. This is why the team spent on Smith and Lofton in free agency and drafted three college linebackers at the end of April – Heeney, Ball and Valles – although the latter will not be lining up to play linebacker in Silver and Black unless injuries demand.
The Raiders hope that this new, refreshed linebacker corps along with a new coaching staff under Jack Del Rio will pay dividends on defense this season. The Raiders’ rookies report to camp today and the veterans on Sunday. The work will begin for the team at that point and with the first pre-season game less than a month away, the fans only have a little time to wait before the 2015 Oakland Raiders have a chance to start showing their money and work was put to good use.
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