If you were to just look at the box scores and counting stats from the season, it would appear the defensive end Clelin Ferrell has taken a step back from his rookie year. Through eight weeks, Ferrell has yet to record a sack and has just two quarterback hits. In total, the former No. 4 pick in the NFL Draft has recorded just 4.5 sacks in 22 career starts.
However, Ferrell is a great example of why you shouldn’t judge a player just based on counting stats. He’s actually been one of the team’s best players this season despite not making the box score all that frequently.
According to Pro Football Focus, Ferrell is the team’s highest-graded defender entering Week 9. His overall grade of 73.9 puts him behind only Josh Jacobs on the season as the team’s best overall player. Currently, Ferrell is the No. 22 edge defender in the NFL per PFF, as well as the No. 9 graded run defender.
Can you make the argument that the Raiders over-drafted a run defender with the No. 4 overall pick? Certainly. But that doesn’t mean Ferrell isn’t a useful player. As we saw in Week 8, his ability to stop the run and hold the edge allowed his team to stop one of the best rushing attacks in all of the NFL in the Cleveland Browns.
The hope is that Ferrell will eventually develop into a dominant pass-rusher, as well. But as of right now, he’s just not there. Ferrell is finding other ways to be useful in the meantime and that is helping the team win games. While they would love to see his sack totals rise soon, Mike Mayock and Jon Gruden have to be happy with the way that the former Clemson defensive end is developing.
