A lot went wrong with the Raiders in 2017. One bright spot – again – was Khalil Mack.
Mack, the Raiders’ defensive lineman who just finished his fourth NFL season, has been ranked by the analytic website Pro Football Focus as Oakland’s top-graded player in 2017.
His numbers weren’t as eye-popping as in past years. He had 10½ sacks in 2017, down from 11 in 2016 and 15 in 2015. And he won’t repeat as the league’s Defensive Player of the Year. But Mack – even against offenses that game-plan to stop him – is an always-hustling, never-stop defender who was in on 78 tackles this past season, topping his total of 73 in 2016, 77 in 2015 and 75 in his rookie year of 2014. Mack also had three batted passes and a forced fumble in earning another trip to the Pro Bowl.
Pro Football Focus gave Mack a grade of 92.1 in 2017, clearly the best grade among all Raiders. The other top four: linebacker NaVorro Bowman (84.8), running back Marshawn Lynch (84.4), cornerback T.J. Carrie (84.3) and center Rodney Hudson (81.6).
Mack’s coaches and teammates also say Mack developed in his leadership skills during 2017. Though the defense struggled under Ken Norton Jr. and then rebounded under John Pagano, both are gone now. New head coach Jon Gruden has brought in Paul Guenther to coordinate the defense. Guenther will inherit Mack, one of the NFL’s most dynamic defenders, who earned kudos during this season for leading by word and example even during hard times.
Carrie told Jerry McDonald of the Bay Area News Group that Mack evolved into a more vocal leader.
“(He’s) asserting himself a little more vocally and stepping out of his comfort zone, putting himself out there,” said Carrie in December. Former head coach Jack Del Rio said Mack now “asserts himself when he needs to.”
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This offseason, the Raiders are likely to work out a new deal with Mack. The final year of his rookie contract is 2018, when he’s scheduled to make about $14 million. Oakland is expected to secure Mack with a new deal before the opening day of this next season.
