Khalil Mack is the big name when it comes to the Oakland Raiders’ linebacking corps, and there’s a good reason for it: He was a high pick (No. 5 overall) who had an awesome rookie year. However, the Raiders have another linebacker who, despite not getting as much press, thinks he can have a career year in 2015. That linebacker is Sio Moore.
Moore wasn’t a high pick like Mack, being taken two years ago in the third round. Not low, per se, but few people outside of Oakland were paying attention to him.
He came out and gave it everything he had in 2013, putting up 49 tackles and getting a forced fumble. He also notched 4.5 sacks.
2014 proved even better. He was hurt and could only play in 11 games, but he was ten tackles shy of 100. He got another forced fumble and three additional sacks.
When asked what he thinks a linebacker should be, he compared them to a snare drum in a marching band, to a heartbeat. To him, the whole defense is centered around the linebackers. He always goes out to prove he can be that heartbeat, striving to lead by example.
Moore is especially excited to play for new coach Jack Del Rio. The two share a position and the No. 55. It’s an instant connection, and Moore thinks he can learn a lot from Del Rio. If anything can help him take his game to the next level, it’s having a head coach who has been there.
The addition of Jack Del Rio as the Oakland Raiders’ head coach should only stand to bolster Sio Moore’s chances of breaking out.
If he’s right, Moore could become a terror. His numbers in his first two seasons are already very good, and he’s likely been overlooked mostly due to the Raiders’ struggles. If he was putting up nearly 100 tackles in Green Bay or New England, more people would know his name. He has room to improve, certainly, but to get to 90 tackles in just 11 starts puts him on pace with some of the best in the game.
And that was without Del Rio.
In all reality, the linebacking group in Oakland is shaping up to be pretty good. They added veteran Curtis Lofton and former Super Bowl MVP Malcolm Smith in the offseason.
Though Lofton is older, he had 100 solo tackles and 45 assists last year. He’s also not that old, as he hasn’t yet hit 30. He’ll be the old man of the group, but there’s no reason to think he can’t get back to 100 tackles again.
Malcolm Smith definitely earned his MVP in the Super Bowl with an interception return for a touchdown off of Peyton Manning, but he hasn’t been a stellar player since. He lost playing time and didn’t really contribute in Seattle last year. Granted, that was a stacked defense around him, so playing time was hard to come by, but he did show that his Super Bowl performance may have been the best of his life.
Still, he’s a guy with a lot of upside, and he’ll make for a good rotational player. He’s a solid part of the group since he doesn’t have to be a star, so he was a good addition.
All of this helps Moore, who wants to energize the Raiders’ defense and who can get the whole group playing at a high level. If he can stay healthy for all 16 games, his third year could definitely be his best. His rookie year came with the natural growing pains that most rookie years have; his second year was quite good, but hampered by injuries. A third year, with his development out of the way and his body ready to go, could be the year in which he really breaks out.