Raiders Beginning to Use Defensive Line Depth

The Las Vegas Raiders made it clear they valued depth on their defensive line, and the depth is already being put to use.

On cut-down day, the Las Vegas Raiders kept ten defensive linemen on the roster. Professional football is won in the trenches, so it made sense for the Raiders to do their best to add quality players to the defensive line.

On Sunday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Raiders decided to lean on some of that depth. Bilal Nichols had five total tackles, and John Jenkins had six total tackles, respectively. 

The Raiders' defense has all but held the team in games this season while their offense struggled, thus leading to their defense spending long periods on the field. 

Considering their size and the wear and tear that comes with playing on the defensive line, it will be necessary for the Raiders to depend on the depth of their defensive line to help keep them as fresh as possible.

"It's important to have those guys up front leading into this week,"  Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham said. "I know they didn't run the ball a lot last week, but the offensive coordinator is well-known for being able to run it. It’s essential to be stout inside and try to affect the quarterback with the inside interior rush.

"And the more guys you have doing that, the better off you're going to be. We have a pretty good group of guys who work pretty hard. They're really hard workers and they’re also pretty intelligent. I love being around the defensive tackles and D-line. They're some of my favorite people to be around on the football field, so it's a positive."

For the defense as a whole, the D-line and its depth have been positive for a defense looking to show improvement from last season.

Las Vegas prepared as well as they reasonably could have regarding their defensive line. The Raiders will have to be sure they continue to rotate as many players as they can along the defensive line as the season progresses. 

The Silver and Black return to the road this week in Inglewood, Calif., to play the Los Angeles Chargers (1-2) on Sunday, Oct. 1, at 4:05 p.m. EDT/1:05 p.m. PDT.

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