Getty Las Vegas Raiders OL Richie Incognito.
The NFL season may still be months away, but it’s never too early for the Las Vegas Raiders fan base to start getting excited. In the short amount of time he’s been with the team, Richie Incognito has quickly become a fan favorite. Despite missing a number of games due to suspension and injury, he still had a big impact on the team.
As a leader and a talented player, Incognito is an important member of the offense for the Raiders. He’s been very active with fans on social media lately and sent an epic message. The video below does contain NSFW language.
Incognito has been a controversial figure in the past, but it appears he’s in a good spot these days and that means good things for him and the Raiders. He barely missed out on the Pro Bowl in 2019, but he’s going to have a strong shot at getting back there this season.
Rodney Hudson & Incognito Form Top Duo
When the Raiders signed Incognito before last season, it was anybody’s guess how he would play after being out for a year. Well, the move paid off handsomely as Pro Football Focus said that the duo of Rodney Hudson and Richie Incognito on the inside was the best at pass protecting in the NFL:
There was no duo of interior offensive linemen in the NFL better at limiting pressure than Rodney Hudson and Richie Incognito this season. Hudson allowed just three pressures in 509 pass-blocking snaps in 2019, while Incognito allowed only nine pressures in 414 snaps. Out of those 12 combined pressures, only one was a sack and one was a quarterback hit — with the other 10 being hurries.
Those are very impressive numbers for the 36-year-old. The Raiders have to be really excited about the interior of their offensive line as both Hudson and Incognito are under contract for the next couple of years.
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Raiders Land at 20 in Power Rankings
The Raiders have made a lot of good moves in free agency this offseason, but they still have doubters. According to ESPN’s latest power rankings, the team is the 20th best in the NFL. Here’s what Paul Gutierrez had to say:
The Raiders hit on some real and specific defensive needs in the first wave of free agency, particularly at linebacker (Cory Littleton, Nick Kwiatkoski and Carl Nassib), cornerback (Eli Apple) and safety (Jeff Heath). And they got a pass-rushing defensive tackle (Maliek Collins). General manager Mike Mayock said at the combine that with so many needs on defense, he did not have to be so “surgical” on that side of the ball. It all leaves open the possibility of the Raiders using one of their first two draft picks (Nos. 12 and 19) on a receiver (CeeDee Lamb? Jerry Jeudy/ Henry Ruggs III?)
The Chicago Bears, Atlanta Falcons, Indianapolis Colts are ranked ahead of the Raiders. The silver and black beat two of those teams last year and an argument could be made that they are better than both of them at this point. The Raiders will need to have a solid draft if they are going to move up in the power rankings.
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