Oakland Raiders Two-Deep Depth Chart
Strongside OLB: Khalil Mack, James Cowser
The Raiders will move him around but Khalil Mack is the best strongside OLB in the game. Mack likes to come from the right side of the offense so we’ll probably see him there the most. Pro Football Focus had him rated as the No. 1 edge-defender in the NFL for the 2015 season.
You hear Von Miller’s name a lot because of the contract and the Super Bowl MVP. But Mack was more dominant in 2015 with 77 tackles, 15 sacks, two passes defensed, and two forced fumbles. Compare that to 35 tackles, 11 sacks, one pass defensed, and four forced fumbles for Miller.
Visually, you can see that Mack is a much more physical player than Miller. You can forget about running to his side because Mack stands tight ends up, tosses them, and makes the play. And he’s not bad when he lines up at end in sub-packages either.
He was an All-Pro at OLB and DE, making him the NFL’s first two-position All-Pro. But again, he’s the best SAM in the game so we should expect that to be his starting position in 2016. Undrafted free agent James Couser, who got after the quarterback well in college will back Mack up.
Next: Cornerback