Raiders 2019 Draft Prospect: DE Justin Hollins

2019 Raiders Draft Prospect Profile

Name: Justin Hollins

Position: Defensive End

Height: 6’5”

Weight: 248 pounds

School: The University of Oregon

Draft Projection: Day 3

Stats

Pass Rush

This trait is what most need to pay attention to. Hollins attacks the perimeter with absolute speed and flexibility. He bends the corner with smoothness, preventing blockers from getting deep into his chest and locking on. Watch for the rip, spin and swim at the next level. He brings a full plate to each snap.

Run Stuffing

Hollins, to the surprise of some, shows a nose for the inside move to slice into the backfield. Blessed with superb quickness, the tackle and guard rise too slowly to compensate. As a result, the back cannot bounce to the outside.

Speed

Hollins possesses serious burst. With each stride, he makes up ground towards the backfield. Without a doubt, one of the most sudden starts in this draft class. Additionally, he does not lose and steam when pursuing. In fact, Hollins shows excellent closing on a target.

Strength

For all of Hollins’ outstanding traits, this is the one area in need of serious improvement. As an edge rusher, he must gain functional strength at the point of attack. Right now, tackles can lock on and steer him wide while the quarterback climbs the ladder. With added power, Hollins can shed quicker and stay in the play.

Agility

With bend and quicks to spare, Hollins can win on nimbleness alone. Despite long legs, he manipulates them to his will on the rush. First, he baits a tackle into either leaning too far or off balance. From there, the lightning footwork leads Hollins pretty much in any direction that he chooses.

Tackling

Hollins’ incredible hand size helps him wrestle ballcarriers to the turf. Despite his current size, he shows decent leg drive behind his play. More importantly, he shows an uncanny knack for punching the ball out when hitting the quarterback. Over time, he honed this technique. If he fails on the strip, Hollins still secured the tackle.

Raiders Fit

Granted, the Raiders already employ a wiry edge rusher. However, Hollins plays faster than Arden Key. In addition, his twitchy athleticism could make life rough on passing downs. On top of that, adding Hollins late could give the Raiders a speed demon on the outside to bookend Key, if they draft an edge that can kick inside on passing downs. Imagine Hollins beating tackles and forcing the play towards the other side. If the Raiders can generate heat with just four, that should free up the linebackers to clean up and make sure tackles to deny first downs. Moreover, Hollins does present the angular body type to add 15-20 pounds, and hopefully not lose too much of his burst.