After what was a lackluster rookie season overall for Las Vegas Raiders 2023 first-round pick and edge rusher Tyree Wilson, the hope is that he can take a big step forward in 2024.
However, according to The Athletic's Vic Tafur, he isn't seeing enough out of the 24-year-old in training camp thus far to believe that will happen. Here's how Tafur views Wilson's performance at training camp after two weeks:
“I wouldn’t say Tyree's has had a great camp,” Tafur revealed on the "Just Win" podcast. “I think Tyree is still kind of a project. All offseason we heard about [Tyree] having a great offseason and going to really take off this year… I don’t know if he's going to have an impact this year, which is fine because they have other guys who can, but for a guy who was a first-round pick, I think he still struggles at times getting off the ball... I wouldn’t say he has taken another step forward at this camp so far.”
Wilson spent most of last offseason recovering from an injury suffered in college, so his slow start wasn't a total surprise. He did manage to find his stride a bit later in the season, but that was after a move to the inside.
Wilson garnered some hype during the offseason program this year when he showed up in phenomenal shape, but perhaps we need to curb that hype after this lackluster review.
Luckily for the Raiders, it won't be the end of the world if Wilson struggles yet again in Year 2, as Las Vegas would remain in good shape with their pass rush thanks to the 2023 emergence of edge rusher Malcolm Koonce, who gives the Raiders a more than formidable duo when combined with Maxx Crosby.
But that doesn't change how incredibly disappointing it would be if Wilson fails to make significant progress in his second season. After all, expectations are high for such a high draft pick and having depth upfront is incredibly important.
