With The First Pick
Fansided

Oakland Raiders Get ILB Their Defense Needed

By Carl Cockerham

Sep 20, 2015; Landover, MD, USA; Washington Redskins inside linebacker Perry Riley (56) onto the field prior to the Redskins
Sep 20, 2015; Landover, MD, USA; Washington Redskins inside linebacker Perry Riley (56) onto the field prior to the Redskins /
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Dec 7, 2014; Landover, MD, USA; St. Louis Rams running back Tre Mason (27) rushes the ball as Washington Redskins inside linebacker Perry Riley (56) defends during the second half at FedEx Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 7, 2014; Landover, MD, USA; St. Louis Rams running back Tre Mason (27) rushes the ball as Washington Redskins inside linebacker Perry Riley (56) defends during the second half at FedEx Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports /

Physicality

Head coach Jack Del Rio has wanted to make the Raiders a physical team since he was hired. And as the NFL world has taken notice, the Raiders have become one of the more physical teams in the league. But the one area the Raiders lack physicality is at ILB.

Smith and Heeney are very small for ILBs as many of them are in todays pass-happy NFL. But two small ILBs will have teams running on you all day as opponents are doing against the Raiders now. The Raiders are currently ranked No. 31 against the run, giving up 5.1 yards per carry.

Smith and Heeney are quick so they sometimes can shoot a gap to make a play for a loss. But they aren’t physical enough to consistently take on and shed blocks, making it harder to maintain their gaps . They also have problems with broken tackles and just plain missing them.

Every scouting report on him says they Riley is a physical, run defending linebacker. His physicality enables him to take on blocks, shed them and stay in his gap to make the play. So the Raiders just got more physical and improved their run defense at the same time.

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