It has been quite a week for the Las Vegas Raiders. The Silver and Black lost to the Detroit Lions on Monday Night Football. Head coach Josh McDaniels was fired shortly after. The general manager who drafted Tyree Wilson with the seventh-overall pick, Dave Ziegler, was also let go. To make matters worse, to some degree, Wilson went from having the best game of his career (vs the Bears) to having one of his worst in Detroit.
Below Average Tape, Below Average Grade
The Raiders defense as a whole looked good against the Lions. While Detroit was able to score 26 points, it did not help that Las Vegas’ inept offense kept the defense on the field the majority of the night. The defense did not log a single sack on quarterback Jared Goff, but not for a lack of trying.
Maxx Crosby was, per usual, a menace on the field. But he could not win the game by himself. His counterpart Tyree Wilson looked lost at times and struggled against left tackle Taylor Decker. After watching all of Wilson’s snaps, he was a contributor on several tackles against the run. The rookie lined up inside on several snaps and did his single weekly stunt, but struggled to shed his blockers.
Towards the end of the game, Wilson looked tired and had difficulty staying on his feet at times. On several plays the Texas Tech alum was simply out-muscled by Decker. The consistent issue observed in Wilson’s game is that for the most part it is singular; there is no variety to his pass-rush moves.
Tyree Wilson’s get-off has improved gradually over the last eight games. However, the lack of creativity in his pass-rush moves, or simple hand-fighting techniques, are hampering his production.
Pro Football Focus gave Wilson a below-average grade of 46.9; a steep drop from his 82.9 grade in Week 7. Wilson logged one solo tackle with no pressures, sacks, or QB hits on his 33 snaps.
Week 9 could be best week yet for Raiders rookie Tyree Wilson
The optimistic take on Tyree Wilson’s rookie season has been that every week presents a new opportunity for him to improve. Some of that optimism is well intentioned but not realistic for the struggling rookie. The Lions offensive line, for example, is one of the best in the league and the zero sacks achieved by Las Vegas’ defense was a strong implication.
The Raiders face off against the New York Giants in Week 9, and that is an entirely different story.
The 33rd Team released their offensive line rankings heading into Week 9, and guess which team earned the 32nd spot? The New York Giants. The Giants may be trotting out Daniel Jones again in Week 9, however, that should not impact this game significantly.
New York’s offensive line is ranked at the bottom in almost every possible metric.
Those include adjusted sack rate (13.5% – 32nd), pressure rate allowed (45.5% – 32nd), blown block percentage (3.82% – 31st), adjusted line yards (3.26 – t-32nd), and running back yards before contact (1.25 – 28th).
Specifically for Tyree Wilson, it is unclear whether he will face off against left tackle Andrew Thomas or backup Justin Pugh. Thomas has only started in one game in 2023 and has allowed zero sacks. That sack total shouldn’t be daunting as Thomas hasn’t logged any significant time due to a hamstring injury.
Pugh is more susceptible to Wilson’s power as he has struggled thus far in 2023, having allowed four sacks, committed three penalties, and issued a startling PFF grade of 49.9.
The Giants, as well as the Commanders, have allowed the most total sacks in 2023 with 41 total. Over eight games that is an average of 5.1 sacks allowed each game. If Tyree Wilson cannot log a single QB hit or sack in the Week 9 battle with the Giants, it would be immensely disappointing.
It’s time for Wilson to take some of the pressure off Maxx Crosby and create some pressures of his own.
*Top Photo: Justin Edmonds/Getty Images
