Raiders play-by-play voice Greg Papa believes the Raiders have a huge need to address this offseason and it’s at a position that hasn’t necessarily been the team’s weakest in recent years.
“The Raiders have got to get a compliment to Khalil Mack that is a pure edge pass rusher,” Papa said Friday on his 95.7 The Game radio program. “As good as Khalil is… you’ve got to have a bookend. You’ve got to have the other guy.”
As of now, Bruce Irvin is slated to play across from Mack, and while the Irvin experiment hasn’t been a busy, it hasn’t been a slam dunk, either.
The Raiders reportedly want Irvin to take a pay cut and Papa doesn’t seem to have confidence in Irvin going into next season.
“I just think with Khalil Mack you need more. You need more on the other side. The guy that is opposite Khalil Mack should be a double-digit sack guy. There was games where Bruce Irvin was dominant and I think he got better than when he first arrived here… I just think that if you’re are opposite of Khalil Mack and you’re getting a lot of single teams, you’ve got to dominate because there’s no question they are scared to death of number 52, so you’ve got to get more production from the other side of him.”
It’s worth noting that Irvin has no roster bonuses of any significance that would require the Raiders to make a hasty decision on Irvin.
His status with the team could conceivably linger into training camp.
twitter: @raidersbeat
I have to agree we need more from the other edge rusher & all DL not named MACK!
I’ve been saying this since they first moved Mack to defensive end which I still think was a mistake . He’s too good an athlete to be stuck on the line . That said , They do need a destroyer on the other end . Someone who can set an edge against the run on a consistent basis and gobble up quarterbacks . No more hybrid players and tweeners PLEASE . And no more ” project ” players .
Why not just keep Irvin and add another pass rusher. I think defensive tackle is a huge need as well. Raiders have no depth on the defensive line.
Drafting has been an issue. Look at the last few years of draft “busts”. Calhoun, Ward, Edwards, Vanderdoes. All DL taken in the top 3. Not sure that the drafting will get much better going forward. Building from within and through the draft??? One draft has been a grade A. The rest, not so much.
Get a double digit end opposite Mack. Slide Irvin back at OLB. Draft Smith and “active” OLB to back up Mack. Add in a couple of run stuffers to take heat off Smith.
Draft Vita Vea he will dominate the middle.
Our bigger issue is getting a true 3 tech dt. Someone who creates that interior pressure. Whether via the draft or Free agency I think the bigger need is Dt not DE. Irvin has been pretty consistent with his numbers. 15 sacks and 10 FF in 2 years. Anytime you can get that from your 2nd pass rusher you take it. Dt is where we are lacking imo.
If U do not have any CB’s it does not matter if U have Mack Donald Watt & C Jones JMO
It might be a long shot but I’m betting on Cowser. He’s success in college was as 4-3 end, now with fitting defense scheme and 2 years of pro training, if not now when?
You mean they actually talked about the Raiders on 9er5.7 The Lame