The Las Vegas Raiders hope that defensive end Tyree Wilson can take a big step forward in 2024 after a lackluster first season in the NFL.
Wilson got off to a very slow start, which wasn’t a huge surprise considering he didn’t have a full offseason as he recovered from a foot injury. The former No. 7 pick showed some signs of improvement late in the season, raising hopes that things would improve in year two.
This year, Wilson is healthy and appears to be in top form, but by all appearances, he hasn’t blown anyone away. According to Pro Football Focus, he appeared in two preseason games and was pressured twice in 48 snaps – once in each game.
With the preseason complete, Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal recently shared his opinion on Wilson at the Morning Tailgate and expressed his concerns about what he saw.
“At this point in his rookie year, Maxx Crosby had already shown that you could say, ‘Oh … who’s the fourth-round pick from Eastern Michigan?'” Bonsignore said.
“At that point, we could say, ‘OK, all right. That’s a player to keep an eye on.’ My problem and my fear with Tyree is that he hasn’t shown that. We gave him the mulligan last year and for good reason. (He’s in his second season now, his first full training camp,) (we) just haven’t seen it. Whether it’s in practice or in games. You don’t feel Tyree out there. He doesn’t make his presence felt.”
Bonsignore is 100% correct when he says we need to give Wilson a chance to prove himself in the regular season before we panic, but this is certainly a troubling rating that doesn’t inspire much confidence.
Wilson will serve as a backup behind edge rushers Malcolm Koonce and Maxx Crosby. We may also see him play a bit on the interior after he had some success there during his rookie season.
