Free agency is still weeks away, and it’s unclear whether Dontari Poe of the Kansas City Chiefs will be a free agent. However, the Chiefs are currently in salary cap hell, and with the contract of safety Eric Berry expiring, it might be difficult to re-sign Poe. If he does hit free agency, there’s at least one team that should consider signing him.
The Oakland Raiders Should Sign Dontari Poe
In 2016, the Oakland Raiders were the worst pass rushing team in the NFL. They only registered 25 sacks as a team, with 11 coming from Defensive Player of the Year, Khalil Mack. For perspective, the Arizona Cardinals led the league in sacks, and they had 48, nearly twice as many.
This is not because the Oakland Raiders lack pass rushers. Mack, the returning Aldon Smith, Bruce Irvin, and Mario Edwards have all proven to be talented rushers. But for some reason, it’s just not coming together.
Head coach Jack Del Rio says the defense will improve when the interior pressure improves, and he’s absolutely right. It looks like the Raiders are leaning towards running a 3-4 in 2017, and with a big, athletic guy in the middle, they could take some pressure off of their outside rushers. Who’s a big, athletic defensive tackle? Kansas City’s Dontari Poe.
Dontari Whoa
Dontari Poe is 6’3 and almost 350 pounds. Despite being huge, he’s also a freak athlete, running a sub-5 40 yard dash and doing 44 reps at the combine. Injuries have hampered him lately, and he didn’t have a fantastic 2016, but this only helps the Raiders.
The potential is still there, and if Poe could get healthy, he’d give the Raiders a big body inside. Dan Williams has been fine for Oakland, but he’s definitely taken some plays off, and obviously hasn’t been generating the interior pressure.
The Other Guys
Brandon Williams of the Baltimore Ravens might be a better player than Dontari Poe, but the demand is also a lot higher. The same is true for Kawann Short of the Carolina Panthers. However, Poe is younger than both of these guys, and should come at a cheaper price. The Raiders are going to have to do some discount shopping with Derek Carr and Khalil Mack’s contracts coming up. Players like Amari Cooper and Gabe Jackson will also want big contracts soon, and the Raiders will need to save every penny they can.
As long as Dontari Poe’s back is good to go, he can make an immediate impact for the right price for the Oakland Raiders. Signing someone like Poe leaves the Raiders open to draft someone like Jarrad Davis or Christian McCaffrey to patch up the rest of the team. Plus, it never hurts to steal a Kansas City Chief away.
