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When the Oakland Raiders decided to make Clelin Ferrell the fourth-overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, opinions were mixed. With Kentucky’s Josh Allen on the board, it was almost a foregone conclusion that would be the team’s pick. However, Oakland shocked the world and went with the National Champion out of Clemson. The reason the Ferrell pick was a surprise wasn’t because of his production. He took the quarterback down 27 times over his last three season in college.
The biggest knock on Ferrell is that he doesn’t have the athletic upside that some of the other top defensive drafts picks did. He also played in a loaded Clemson defense that had four players get drafted in the first 40 picks of the 2019 Draft, three of them on the defensive line. Ferrell was still a first-round caliber player, he just wasn’t expected to go in the top five. Several months have passed and the Raiders don’t seem to be regretting their decision. The rookie just got massive praise from a new veteran teammate.
Corey Liguet Sees ‘Similarities’ Between Clelin Ferrell, Joey Bosa
The newest member of the Oakland Raiders, former Los Angeles Charger Corey Liuget, has played next to some pretty incredible pass-rushing talent over the years. Most recently, he’s been playing next to sack master Joey Bosa. Liuget plans to use his experience playing with Bosa to help Ferrell, per NBCS’ Scott Bair.
“Corey Liuget was saying after his talk w/the press that he plans to show Clelin Ferrell some Joey Bosa tape. Liuget knows Bosa well after working with him on the Chargers. He sees similarities between the two playing styles, and he wants Ferrell to see how Bosa plays off a DT.”
The most notable thing that Liuget had to say is that he sees similarities between Ferrell and Bosa. Interesting enough, Ferrell put up more sacks than Bosa did over their last three years of college. Bosa has been a stud on the field when healthy. He’s racked up 28.5 sacks in just 35 games played. The Raiders are coming off a season that saw them only get 13 sacks as a collective unit. If Ferrell plays anything like Bosa has, the Oakland defense could be greatly improved in 2019.
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Liguet Believes Raiders Have Improved Defensively
Ferrell wasn’t the only notable defensive player the team added. Johnathan Abram, Vontaze Burfict, LaMarcus Joyner and Brandon Marshall were among the most notable moves. Liguet has spent his entire career battling against the Raiders twice a season and he barely recognizes this year’s unit compared to last year’s.
“I see a different defense from last year, for sure,” said Liguet. “I see guys here, my second day, wanting to work and competing and wanting to win their one-on-one battles. Guys just have to continue to buy into what coach Gruden is saying.”
Oakland’s defense has gotten a nice injection of youth over the offseason. No longer are elder statesmen like Derrick Johnson, Leon Hall and Reggie Nelson on the roster. The defense should be faster and has much more talent. Defensive coordinator Paul Guenther has a strong defensive mind, but he was dealt a bad hand in 2018. It’ll be interesting to see what he can do with more talent at his disposal in 2019.
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