Film room: Wilson continues to take steps against Broncos

3 sacks in the last 4 games for the 2023 first-round pick

Let’s be honest, the only reason to watch the Las Vegas Raiders for the rest of the season is to see how the team’s young players perform as the Raiders look to build for the future. One source of optimism in Las Vegas is Tyree Wilson as the defensive end has managed to record three sacks in the last four games.

Diving deeper, Wilson has recorded eight pressures on 89 pass-rush snaps during that time frame and owns a 75.5 run defense grade for the entire year, according to Pro Football Focus, and the latter ranks within the top 20 for his position. That’s a step in the right direction for the second-year pro.

The former Red Raider had a strong performance in Week 12 against the Denver Broncos, recording three pressures and three defensive stops (tackles that result in a “failure” for the offense) via PFF. So, let’s flip on the tape and dive into the outing.

We’ll start with a couple of pass-rush reps from Wilson which, admittedly, aren’t as impressive as the plays he made against the run.

Wilson’s get-off is much better than it’s been in the past on this rep which helps him take advantage of his power as a rusher. He ends up winning at the point of attack and does a good job of keeping his feet moving through contact.

So, when Maxx Crosby wins around the edge and forces Bo Nix to scramble, Wilson can escape the block and put pressure on Nix which leads to the throw-away.

This is a nice play-call from Patrick Graham as Graham dials up a stunt with Adam Butler and Wilson. Those two do a good job of selling the regular rush by working up the field initially to disguise the line game. Once Butler picks the guard, Wilson loops inside into the A-gap and takes an efficient path by not losing ground vertically while working laterally to get the sack.

Also, Charles Snowden wins around the edge which forces Nix to step up in the pocket and the Broncos have three blockers (the tight end, right tackle and right guard) with their eyes on Crosby to help keep Wilson clean and get to the quarterback.

The Broncos run outside zone while the Raiders are in an odd front with Wilson lined up as a 4-technique defensive end or head up on the left tackle. With tackle working wide, Wilson does a good job of recognizing the blocking scheme and getting his eyes and hands inside to take on the guard’s block.

He uses his strength and length at the point of attack to set the edge and force the running back to cut inside. While it isn’t a clean escape, Wilson does get off the block to at least slow down the back in the backfield. I’d like to see him finish this play and get the TFL, but he at least causes enough disruption for Darnay Holmes to clean it up and make the tackle for little to no gain.

This rep shows some impressive instincts from the second-year pro.

Pre-snap, he senses that something is up, pointing out the receiver lined up in a reduced split. Denver is faking a split zone run to try and influence Wilson to work flat down the line of scrimmage and open up the edge on the jet sweep. However, the defender doesn’t take the bait and works up the field instead, allowing him to make a great unblocked tackle for loss in space against a speedy wide receiver.

What I like about this last clip is the Broncos try to catch Wilson working up the field by showing the same look as the clip above. However, the play-call is different as they run a read option with the tight end working across the formation to serve as the lead blocker for Nix.

The idea is that Wilson will get caught too far up the field, either running into the tight end or not being in a position to make a tackle on the running back from the backside. But he reads his keys and stays home this time, working flat down the line of scrimmage to get another unblocked tackle near the line of scrimmage.

That makes the clip above even more impressive as it’s clear Wilson was adjusting to what he was seeing from the offense and not just gambling or getting lucky.

While it wasn’t a dominant performance on Sunday, the 2023 first-round pick is growing as a pro and taking steps in the right direction to build some momentum heading into next season.