Oakland Raiders Two-Deep Depth Chart

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Jun 15, 2016; Alameda, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders linebacker Bruce Irvin (51) at minicamp at the Raiders practice facility. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

Weaskside OLB: Bruce Irvin, Shilique Calhoun

When Bruce Irvin first signed with the Raiders, I wondered where he was going to play. Mack will obviously start on one edge and I thought Aldon Smith would eventually wrap the other edge up. Smith is probably the best edge rusher of this generation when he’s not it trouble.

But he is in trouble and we don’t even know if he’ll be back at all with the violation of his probation he just got. So I’m not even putting Smith on the depth chart and Bruce Irvin will start at weakside OLB. Irvin has blazing speed off the edge and had eight sacks as a rookie.

But after that, he was relegated to pass coverage as the Seattle Seahawks have good pass-rushers. It will be exciting to see what Irvin will do going forward more with Mack on the other side. The left tackles in the AFC West are already scared of that 4.5 speed.

Shilique Calhoun, a productive edge-rusher and steal of a third-round pick, will back him up. He should get some run in the rotation as he has a quick first step and knows how to get to the quarterback. If Irvin doesn’t turn out to be what we think, look for Calhoun to steal some snaps.

Next: Weakside ILB

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