Without training camp footage and no preseason games being offered, conference calls have been the best way to find out information about the Raiders. Luckily, head coach Jon Gruden doesn’t mind being blunt about which players are performing and which ones need to pick up the pace.
With that in mind, one of the players that has constantly received praise from Gruden is newly-signed defensive tackle Maliek Collins. In the past few weeks, Gruden has repeatedly said that Collins will be one of the keys to their defense if they want to be successful this season.
In Gruden’s most recent conference call, he once again stressed how important Collins is to their defense. He even mentioned that Collins has a chance to be one of the best defensive tackles in the entire NFL:
“Well, we think Collins has experience in our system. He’s been a classic 3-technique. He has experience with the position coach [defensive line coach Rod Marinelli] that’s coaching him. He’s officially about to enter the prime of his career. So, he’s got a lot of playing experience. He’s got a lot of technical knowledge of what we want done. I think I said it the last time we had a presser, he’s the key to our defense. I think he’s got a chance to be one of the better ones. We’re happy about that.”
While Collins doesn’t have a ton of sacks to his name, he has proven to be one of the best one-on-one rushers in the entire NFL. For this defense to work, he has to be able to beat guards and create pressure on the quarterback.
At just the age of 25, Collins is entering the prime of his career as Gruden mentioned. If he can continue to build off of his success with the Cowboys, the Raiders could have an up-and-coming star on their hands. Look for the Raiders use a combination of Collins and Maurice Hurst at the three-technique this season.
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