Raiders have a gifted talent in Chandler Jones
The Las Vegas Raiders have officially signed pass rusher Chandler Jones, according to Tom Pelissero. Jones was recently named the third-best free agent available by CBS Sports. It’s clear that the Raiders are getting a stud who isn’t “washed up” at this day in age. Here is a closer look at how dominant Jones has been over the past few seasons:
- 10.5 sacks in 2021
- 19 sacks in 2019
- Pro Bowl selection in 2021
- Pro Bowl selection and All-Pro selection in 2019
The Raiders are battling in the wild AFC West, which is also known as the NFL’s best division in 2022. The Chargers picked up Khalil Mack (and J.C. Jackson), the Broncos scooped up Russell Wilson, and now the Raiders strike gold with Jones.
The Raiders arguably feature the NFL’s top pass-rushing duo with Maxx Crosby and Jones. Maxx Crosby (15 sacks in the past two seasons combined) was recently extended and now they help him with the signing of DE/OLB Jones.
Meanwhile, the Raiders have traded their “old” pass rusher Yannick Ngakouye (10 sacks in 2021) to the Indianapolis Colts, according to Ian Rapoport. Gus Bradley, who is the Colts defensive coordinator, was the Raiders prior defensive coordinator in 2021. Bradley will have his former defensive stud back in his arsenal. Ngakouye will now be partners with Deforest Buckner on the Colts scary DL. They also have Darius Leonard in their front seven.
The Raiders had a terrific pass-rushing duo last season, but they were still ranked 21st in sacks a season ago. That is not a formula for success in the AFC West, where they play Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, and Russell Wilson twice a season. The Raiders were wise to make a splash move at their DE spot and I fully expect them to display a Top 15 pass-rushing unit next season.
The Raiders new DC in 2022 was a Patriots assistant from 2009-2019, where he worked with the Pats DL and LB unit. It’s clear that he coaches Jones and that the former Patriots sack artist has strong ties to Graham. The Raiders DC will nicely move Jones around the DL and put him in the perfect position to succeed next to Mad Maxx.
