HENDERSON, Nev. — Johnathan Hankins and Bilal Nichols both came off the PUP list last week, and no, that rumble you heard emanating from near the Las Vegas Raiders‘ compound was not the latest monsoon rolling through Sin City.
It was a sigh of relief.
The Raiders getting their two projected starting defensive tackles out of the training room from undisclosed injuries and onto the practice field provided more than a feel-good story.
“Certainly, we now have more depth than what we’ve been practicing with, for sure,” first-year Raiders coach Josh McDaniels said. “I think anytime you add players back, in this case two defensive linemen that we have some hopes for, it kind of reallocates the repetitions. It re-slots everyone into maybe a role that maybe fits them perfectly, or better than what we were doing before. I see those guys as guys that can contribute.”
Better late than never, right?
Consider: the Raiders, under McDaniels and new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, have reimagined the defensive line, especially its interior. Because while there is no doubt about the roles of star edge rushers Maxx Crosby and Chandler Jones, Hankins was the only pure interior D-lineman brought back by the Raiders’ new regime (Kendal Vickers rotates between the interior and edge).
And, as noted above, Hankins started training camp on PUP.
Gone are Quinton Jefferson (4.5 sacks in 2021), Solomon Thomas (3.5), Darius Philon (2.0) and Damion Square (0.5), taking 10.5 of the Raiders’ 35 sacks from last season with them. In their place are free agents Nichols, Andrew Billings, Kyle Peko, Tyler Lancaster and Vernon Butler (who was released Aug. 16) and draft picks Neil Farrell Jr. and Matthew Butler.
Keep in mind, while the Raiders’ depth chart shows a 4-3 alignment — Hankins and Peko started at defensive tackle in Las Vegas’ exhibition at the Miami Dolphins last weekend, while Peko and Billings started the first two preseason games — Graham’s scheme has plenty of 3-4 sensibilities.
“Coach Pat got us going through a couple of different formations,” Peko said with a smile. “Up front, the more you can do, the better. So I think for all the interior guys, knowing each end knows the three-tech spot, it’s just beneficial for the whole defense in the long run.”
It’s a…
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