HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — NFL teams that draft a player seventh usually expect that prospect to make an immediate impact.
They count on it.
But Tyree Wilson, as he enter his third season with the Raiders, he is still trying to prove himself.
Maybe this is the season he proves why Las Vegas used such a high pick on him, and Wilson has shown in training camp that he could be poised to take a big step forward.
“The whole camp, he’s been doing a solid job,” coach Pete Carroll said. “We’ve called on him in a number
of ways to keep going and keep pushing. We’re really trying to make sure that we put him in the right spots that take advantage of his skills and in his comfort and so that he can play at his best.”
That includes playing Wilson defensive end or tackle.
He was drafted as an edge rusher after making seven sacks each of his final two seasons at Texas Tech, but also has been used inside not only in Las Vegas but in college.
“It’s the quickest path to the quarterback being inside,” Wilson said. "You go through the guard, the quarterback is really going to be standing right there.”
Wilson has been playing catch-up since the Raiders drafted him. A foot injury in his final season at Texas Tech forced him to sit out of organized team activities and minicamp, and Wilson didn't get onto the practice field until well into training camp.
The result? Wilson didn’t record a sack his rookie until Week 7 against Chicago. He wound up making 3 1/2 by season's end, but no one was mistaking his pass rushing abilities for teammate Maxx Crosby.
Wilson showed a little more promise last season in making 4 1/2 sacks, but the fact he has remained on the second team in practices is telling. He isn't on the trajectory previously expected, but that doesn't mean Wilson can't change the narrative.
The 6-foot-5, 263-pound player has taken advantage of the opportunities he has received in camp.
“I feel like I’m way faster, way more fluid than I have been before, and it’s going to continue to get better,” Wilson said.
As Wilson has progressed and shown flashes, another defensive end is still trying to find his way. Malcolm Koonce ended the 2023 season with six sacks in his final four games and looked poised to form a strong pass-rushing duo with Crosby when 2024 rolled around.
But a torn ACL in last year's camp took Koonce out of the season, and he used the offseason practices to get back into form. It remains an ongoing effort for Koonce, who signed a one-year, $12 million prove-it contract in March.
“He missed so much in the offseason that he was disappointed in," Carroll said. “It’s been three, four weeks we’ve been out here, and I think it took him time to realize he’s OK and he’s in great shape. It’s often with injuries, particularly lower-leg injuries in knees and ankles, you got to believe that it’s OK, and sometimes you have to prove it.”
Which is where Wilson also finds himself.
He appears relaxed and confident, and no doubt his positive practice performances help. But until he does it consistently in the season, Wilson will be a big draft miss.
Maybe this season will be a different story.
“He’s working hard,” linebacker Elandon Roberts said. “He does some very good things inside and on the outside. And, man, that guy is really long, so his extension and just being able to get off blocks and affect not just in the pass game but the run game, you really see it.”
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