The Raiders got a surprise in Week 3 of the preseason as Tyree Wilson suited up for the first time this year. Wilson only played a handful of snaps against the Cowboys, but he was impressive in the limited action that he saw.
In a recent article by Chad Reuter of NFL.com, he wrote about some of the top rookie performances from over the weekend. That included Wilson, who earned a “B” from Reuter. Here is a snippet of his thoughts on Wilson from Saturday night:
He showed off his length and ability to convert speed to power as a pass rusher, pushing Dallas’ right tackles into the quarterback.
He stacked the left tackle and shed him on a first-down run to take down the runner after just two yards (his only tackle of the night) on Dallas’ second offensive series.
Cowboys quarterback Will Grier did run around Wilson and into the end zone for the first points of the game when the edge defender failed to contain. The fact that Wilson played was a big win for him and the team as he makes his way back from the injury.
Wilson’s power and athleticism were on full display in the first quarter and that’s what the Raiders hope that he can add when the season starts. With Maxx Crosby and Chandler Jones both being polished sack artists, having a player like Wilson with raw power should help collapse pockets and force quarterbacks out of the pocket.
The Raiders are likely to ease Wilson onto the field as a rookie. But there is a chance that he is just too talented to not see the field for 50-60 percent of the snaps in Year 1. Needless to say, the Raiders are really excited to see the No. 7 pick from the 2023 NFL Draft get more playing time early in the year.