While a lot has been made about the Las Vegas Raiders’ 2025 NFL draft class getting little to no playing time this season, one rookie who saw the field a lot against the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football is defensive lineman Tonka Hemingway.
According to Pro Football Focus, the South Carolina product recorded 38 total snaps in Week 11. However, outside of a fumble recovery, Hemingway had a quiet night by not even recording a tackle. To make matters worse, he received an ugly 28.0 grade from
PFF due in part to having a missed tackle and failing to log a pressure on 17 pass-rush snaps.
So, where can the rookie improve moving forward, and were there any encouraging reps against the Cowboys? Let’s flip on the tape and find out.
While the rep above isn’t too impressive and Maxx Crosby is the catalyst that makes this play happen, there are a couple of positive takeaways for Hemingway.
The Cowboys run a play-action pass where he’s defending the run initially before recognizing the play design and shifting gears to being a pass-rusher. Then, he does a good job of working the left tackle’s hands to break free around the edge and shows off some impressive hustle to go recover the fumble on the other side of the field.
The defensive line is put at a disadvantage by the play design, but the rookie found a way to be effective and play a part in the turnover. Also, using his hands like this will pay off and lead to more wins down the line.
Hemingway is inconsistent with his use of hands as a pass-rusher, though. He’s often late and allows the offensive lineman to make the first significant contact, which allows the right tackle to control the rep and prevents the defender from being able to work a move here. As a result, Hemingway ends up chest-to-chest with the right tackle and can’t get on the edge.
That being said, I do appreciate how he tries to work the tackle’s hands after contact on this rep.
In the running game, taking on double teams was one of the former Gamecock’s biggest weaknesses in college, and it continues to be a big work in progress. Part of the issue is his pad level as he stands up out of his stance. Then, Hemingway’s hands are low and too wide at the point of contact, which exposes his chest and allows the left tackle to stand him up even more. So, the left guard’s job is easier, as the guard pushes Hemingway out of the B-gap and to the top of the numbers.
This time, Hemingway is lined up at 3-technique. We’ll see the same issues with his hands, exposing his chest and allowing the right guard to lift his shoulders. Also, Hemingway’s base is too narrow here, which is why he goes from the A-gap to nearly the C-gap when the center makes contact with him.
Granted, it doesn’t help that the rookie is slanting into the A-gap and has to redirect with the offense running mid zone and the guard working to his outside shoulder on the reach block. That is part of the issue with Hemingway’s base.
Also, more experience can help here because if he recognizes the blocking scheme quickly, he can shift his attention from taking on the guard’s block to the center’s block to stay in the A-gap instead of trying to pivot quickly and change directions.
Hemingway definitely benefits from a miscommunication by the right guard and tackle here, as the tackle picks up the edge defender and the guard climbs to the second level. But this is a good job of getting off the ball and attacking the tackle’s inside shoulder to split the combo block and get penetration in the backfield. However, he has to bring his feet with him on the tackle attempt to fully take advantage and come up with a TFL here.
Finally, the rookie gets a one-on-one block here and this is his most encouraging rep of the night. He does a much better job of keeping his pads down, shooting his hands quickly and maintaining a wide base. That allows Hemingway to lock out the left tackle and get an extension on the block with a long arm.
If the Raiders had someone in the backside A-gap, he’d be in a great position to make the tackle in the playside A-gap. But that doesn’t happen, so Dallas gets a chunk gain on the ground.
Overall, there are a handful of positive reps, but Hemingway still has some work to do to be more consistent.
