One position that has haunted the Raiders for years is the off-the-ball linebacker spot. They just haven’t been able to find any sort of consistent production and have cycled players in and out over the years.
However, they finally found an impact starter last season as Denzel Perryman made the Pro Bowl for the Raiders. In 15 games, he totaled 154 tackles, along with five tackles for a loss and three QB hits.
But where does Perryman rank among the best off-the-ball linebackers in the NFL?
In a recent article by Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus, he ranked the top 32 linebackers in the NFL heading into the 2022 season. Not surprisingly, Perryman made the list, coming in at No. 23. Here is what Monson had to say about the Pro Bowl linebacker:
“The league may be trending ever more toward the passing game, but there is still a place in the NFL for linebackers who are excellent run defenders first and foremost.
Perryman has been the embodiment of that in his NFL career, to the point where he was often kept off the field on passing downs. His 913 snaps for the Raiders last season was a career-high mark and more than doubled his previous best.”
Perryman projects as the every-down linebacker again for the Raiders this season with Jayon Brown and Divine Deablo likely splitting snaps on the weakside. That’s a pretty big change from just a year ago when the projected starters were Cory Littleton and Nick Kwiatkowski.
Look for the Raiders to use a heavy rotation at linebacker again this season, but for Perryman to play the majority of snaps and to lead the team in tackles once again.
