Earlier this offseason, the Raiders released their starting defensive tackle in Maurice Hurst without much of an explanation. However, one of the reasons (it appeared) that the Raiders were fine with his release was due to the signing of Solomon Thomas.
During his career at Stanford, Thomas played a lot as an undersized defensive tackle. He even saw some time at defensive tackle in San Fransisco with the 49ers, but he wasn’t able to hold up against the run quite well enough. Unfortunately, it appears that Thomas may be having some of the same problems now in Las Vegas.
In a recent article by Vic Tafur of The Athletic, he wrote about defensive end Clelin Ferrell and his tough fight for playing time. One of the reasons why he could be in trouble for snaps is due to Thomas, who the team might view as a defensive end rather than a defensive tackle. Here are Tafur’s thoughts on the former No. 3 pick and his role in this defense:
“This training camp, (Clelin) Ferrell might have a hard time winning a lot of playing time, let alone a starting role. There are pass rushers Yannick Ngakoue and Maxx Crosby on the outside, and if the Raiders want a stronger run-defense presence, they might go with newcomer Solomon Thomas on one of the ends. (Yes, for all the talk of Thomas playing inside at three-technique, the Raiders are starting to think he may be too small for that role after all.)”
If Thomas can’t fill the three-technique role for the Raiders, this is a team that will need to go out and find a starting defensive tackle. Their defensive tackle situation was already one of the worst in the NFL and with Thomas potentially moving to defensive end, it’s only gotten worse.
Keep an eye on the defensive tackle spot for the Raiders as they will likely need to make a move before the season begins.
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