The best pressure is the one that arrives right at the face of the quarterback — right up the middle. That isn’t something the Las Vegas Raiders have done remotely well. Not even close.
While the Silver & Black boasts a bona fide quarterback hunter in defensive end Maxx Crosby, a quality pass rusher on the interior at defensive tackle is basically non existent. That of course can change, but someone has to step up.
And that someone has to be Bilal Nichols.
Why him in particular? There’s two primary drivers for that.
First: According to The Athletic, Nichols rarely left the starting lineup during the offseason sessions open to the media.