Three Raiders players to watch on defense vs. Packers

Justin Churchill — College Football & NFL Trending News Writer

Oct 9, 2023 10:11 AM EDT

Featured Image Via Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

The Las Vegas Raiders are somewhat in must-win mode as they go up against the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football. If they get embarrassed again, fans may end up boycotting on national TV until Josh McDaniels is fired.

The game can be a fun, good game, though. We know which areas the Packers struggle in, and we also know that their offense has the potential to be great. So, we will need to see some Raiders' defenders step up big time on Monday Night Football.

The defense hasn't been the best this year, as we are accustomed to; however, they have pieces that can make some plays. We already talked about three players to watch on the offensive side of the ball; now we have to talk about the defense.

Three Raiders to watch vs. Packers

Tyree Wilson, DE: The rookie started really, really bad, and I believe he had one of the slowest get-offs in the league, which is not good. He had difficulty letting the game come to him in his first few games. However, as we have progressed through the season, it appears that he has let the game come to him.

Last week, he had a few nice plays; most of them were in the run game, but they were nice nonetheless. On Monday, watch for Wilson to see just how much he has progressed and how he has handled having an extra day of rest. Now that Chandler Jones is officially gone, which he was vs. the Chargers, it's time to see what he has in store for the future.

Chris Smith, S: Smith was finally active last week and not on the inactive list. However, the rookie safety did not play much, just 18 special teams snaps, but he was trusted to be on the field. On Monday, we could see a ton of him.

We got word on Saturday that starting safety and big free agent acquisition, Marcus Epps is questionable with a knee issue. If he isn't ready to go on Monday Night Football, we will finally get to see the rookie in action in the backfield.

Devine Deablo, LB: Deablo is probably our best linebacker, either he or Spillane. So, we will need to see him get active against a team that loves to run the ball and send their running backs into the flat and the check-down area in front of the line of scrimmage for pass plays.

Deablo has the speed to keep up with some of the running backs when they do line up as receivers out of the backfield. When the running backs hit that second level, let's hope that Deablo is the guy making the stops because if he isn't, then they are likely getting into that third level of the defense.