The Oakland Raiders are looking to make the leap this season. They have Derek Carr entering a highly anticipated second season with the team while Amari Cooper is expected to become an immediate star for the team. While all eyes are on the developing offense, the defense is preparing to have a few breakout stars of their own as the hype around Khalil Mack continues to develop in his second season with the team.
Both ESPN.com and NFL.com have pegged Mack as a star in the upcoming season. The linebacker showed true potential in his rookie season, something that he is expected to capitalize off of and be a leader in 2015. Bill Williamson of ESPN.com writes that Mack's potential under Jack Del Rio is extremely high and the franchise is confident he takes the next step in 2015. Oakland only had 22 sacks combined last season. Del Rio is expected to help those numbers grow for each individual player and Mack will lead the effort. Williamson believes that Mack can be the Von Miller of the Raiders.
"Mack is going to be Del Rio's Miller. Expect Mack to move around from outside linebacker to the defensive line more this season in some packages. His sack numbers should increase and we should see many big plays from Mack, who in the near future will be among the very best defensive players in the NFL," Williamson wrote via ESPN.com.
Mack is expected to pair with Curtis Lofton for the linebacker position while Sio Moore will fill in when he becomes healthy. The third-year pro is coming off an injury riddled year and it is unclear exactly when he plans on making his debut. After bringing in Malcom Smith and Ray Ray Armstrong, the Raiders do not need Moore to rush back onto the field.
The Raiders have position battles preparing to headline training camp. It has been well publicized that Trent Richardson and Latavius Murray will be battling it out to start at the running back position. Both players had strong offseasons as Richardson was praised for his weight loss. Oakland is likely less concerned with who starts at the position and more concerned with both players giving quality minutes. Michael Crabtree, Rod Streater and Andre Holmes will also be battling to run alongside Cooper on offense. All of this depth should help Oakland move out of the bottom of the NFL.