As the Las Vegas Raiders get prepared for the 2020 NFL Draft, they have a few specific needs in mind, and one of them is obviously the linebacker position.
Last year was general manager Mike Mayock‘s first year at the helm of the Raiders draft room, and he and Jon Gruden combined to put together an outstanding overall draft class.
With all the talent they accrued in last year’s draft, there is still some work to be done to continue to improve. In this year’s draft class, no linebacker stands out more than Clemson’s Isaiah Simmons.
Simmons was a defensive specialist for the Tigers, finishing with seven sacks, one forced fumble and three interceptions last season. For Mayock, he believes Simmons is ready to go up against some of the premier tight ends in the NFL, which is something the Raiders can really use, via Vic Tafur of The Athletic:
“You start looking at guys on offense that can play in the slot, play running back, the H-backs, there’s really not a label for them. They’re just either dynamic players or not. Then you start looking to matchup with those guys on defense, and when you start looking in any division, particularly ours, in the tight ends, for instance, that we have to play in our division, and you kind of go ‘Who matches up? We want to play man coverage, who can matchup with those type of guys? They’re big guys going fast, who do we have?’ So I think , more and more defenses around the league are saying, who are the guys that you don’t necessarily have to put a label on that are dynamic football players? Isaiah Simmons has played on the backend, he’s played at linebacker, he’s come off the edge, and really I think the only limitations put on him are whatever the defensive coordinator puts on him.”
Standing at 6’4″ and 230 lbs., Simmons fits the profile of what the Raiders are looking for. His speed should enable him to keep up with nearly any player on the field and his height should bother opposing offenses.
Additionally, it’s no secret that Mayock loves Clemson players as he drafted three of them – Clelin Ferrell, Trayvon Mullen and Hunter Renfrow – in his first year with the team.
The Raiders are selecting 12th overall in the upcoming draft and there is really no telling if a talent like Simmons will still be available at that point. NFL.com has him going as high as third overall in their most recent mock draft, meaning Las Vegas may need to move up to snag him.
Adding a linebacker of his talent would take the Raiders’ defense to the next level. Of course, the Raiders will be looking to improve the linebacker position through free agency as well as they have already been linked to some of the top names on the open market..
