Bruce Irvin Will Make Oakland Raiders’ Pass Rush Very Threatening In 2016

The Oakland Raiders have been one of the busiest teams in free agency thus far, and they made another huge acquisition on Tuesday night. Shortly after announcing an agreement to sign star offensive lineman Kelechi Osemele, the team announced that they had reached a deal with free agent linebacker Bruce Irvin. While the terms of the deal are not yet known, there is no doubt that the former Seattle Seahawks starter will have an impact on the Raiders’ pass rush in 2016.

The Raiders have one of the best young pass rushers in the league in Khalil Mack, but the team has not found a player that will be able to play across from him in the long term. Last season, Justin Tuck was solid as one of the team’s defensive ends, but he retired. Aldon Smith played very well at the position too before the league elected to suspend the embattled player a year for various NFL violations.

The team does have some young players that they could have tested across from Mack, but given the relative openness of the AFC West, the team figured they have a shot at making the playoffs this season. Mario Edwards Jr. probably needs more time to develop anyway, so bringing in Irvin cannot hurt.

Speaking of Irvin, he is coming off of a pretty solid season for the Seahawks. He has been a three-year starter for the team and has been part of the reason that the team has had such a strong linebacker corps over the past few years. He worked well alongside Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright and his quickness, coverage skills, and pass rushing ability made him a solid weapon.

Adding Irvin will allow the Raiders to have a lot of movement across their defensive front seven. Both Irvin and Mack can play linebacker and defensive end, and depending on the matchups the Raiders can decide how to use both players. While Irvin uses his speed and athleticism to make plays in the backfield, Mack is more well-rounded. The two will be good counterparts to one another and they could make a strong pass rushing duo.

Irvin is not a move that will make the Raiders a championship contender, but it certainly will not hurt their cause. Provided that they did not overpay for the linebacker’s service, this was probably a smart move by the Raiders’ front office.