Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden traded one impressive bloke out of Buffalo for another young lad from the same school in Malcolm Koonce.
Viewed as the best pass rusher since Khalil Mack, Koonce hails from the same university and boasts impressive rush skills. Statistically speaking, Koonce accumulated 17 sacks, 22.5 tackles for a loss, and four forced fumbles in 38 games.
Still, it’s a bit curious why the Raiders — so knackered with the absence of a pass rush — snatched up a prospect viewed as a late-round one. Especially when you consider Koonce did his best work as a standup edge rusher and not a traditional hands-in-the-dirt end.
Did the Raiders make the right call?
Still, the Raiders went into the draft on a bloody mission. Besides, defensive coordinator Gus Bradley is known to deploy odd fronts along with the traditional four-down lineman 4-3. He did have Bruce Irvin as a standup linebacker in a 3-4 and 5-2 look in Seattle.
Koonce brings a variety of moves and skills to leg it to the quarterback, however, he’ll need to get proper when defending the run. He can get washed out like a biscuit during tea time in those instances.
With all of that being said, take a gander at Plissken’s Peeks: Malcolm Koonce.
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*Top Photo: AP Photo/Kamil Krzaczynski