Raiders playing the odds loading up on flyers at defensive tackle
This offseason the Raiders went kinda nuts at defensive tackle. Usually, at a position of such need, the plan is to go hard after at least one big-ticket guy. The Raiders didn’t do that. They skipped that aisle and went straight for the clearance rack and cleaned the place out in the hopes that they’d stumble upon a bargain.
There was no question defensive tackle had to be a priority. Coming into free agency, they had just Maurice Hurst returning as a sometimes starter. And in a matter of days, Hurst has been joined at the position by more DTs than the Raiders know what to do with.
They brought back Johnathan Hankins, giving them a starter at nose tackle. But the funny thing is all the others they signed play three-tech. This is what the position looks like now:
Maurice Hurst
Kendal Vickers
David Irving
Solomon Thomas
Quinton Jefferson
Darius Philon
Matt Dickerson
That’s seven dudes. For one position.
Figuring out who will win the two or three roster spots at the three-tech DT spot is hard to say. Several of them could do it because several of them were highly thought of at one point and the Raiders are banking on them either returning to form or discovering the potential they once had.
Irving had seven sacks in eight games in 2017 and was seen as a future star before substance abuse got him suspended for the entire 2019 season. Thomas was the third overall pick in the 2017 draft and never lived up to it.
Philon had put up 8.5 sacks over two seasons for the Chargers in 2017-18 which led to a two-year $10 million deal with the Cardinals before an assault arrest derailed his career. That case never went to trial and was dismissed last month. Even Hurst was seen a top ten talent in the 2018 draft before a heart condition had teams stay away from him until the Raiders nabbed him in the fifth round.
Jefferson has had three seasons as a steady performer for the Seahawks and Bills. Dickerson and Vickers are former undrafted free agents trying to carve out careers for themselves.
All of these guys are between the ages of 25 and 28 so the expectation is that they’re all either in their prime or entering it. And none of them are signed past this season.
The most expensive contract this season is Thomas at $5 million on a one-year deal. Jefferson would be next at $3.25 million. Then Hurst at $2.26 million. Irving at $1 million. Vickers at $780K. Philon and Dickerson’s deals are not yet known, but not expected to be much.
If you add the top three it comes to about $10.5 million which would be 16th; equal to the contract Dalvin Tomlinson got this offseason. The Top free-agent three-tech DT Leonard Williams re-signed with the Giants and will get $21 million this season.
What the Raiders are hoping is that of the seven three-tech DT’s on the roster, at least one of them can be the answer they’re looking for. I guess if you can’t go big on a proven talent, you take a lot of chances, thus presumably upping your odds that you can get back more than you spent and let it ride until next year.
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