5 breakout stars to watch for Las Vegas Raiders in 2020

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 08: DeAndre Washington #33 of the Oakland Raiders celebrates with Kolton Miller #74 after scoring a touchdown in the first quarter against the Tennessee Titans at RingCentral Coliseum on December 08, 2019 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) /

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LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 06: Nicholas Morrow #50 of the Oakland Raiders rushes the ball during the NFL match between the Chicago Bears and Oakland Raiders at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on October 06, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Jack Thomas/Getty Images) /

3. OLB Nicholas Morrow

For the most part, the linebacking corps of the Las Vegas Raiders is under reconstruction these days.

General manager Mike Mayock and head coach Jon Gruden added a vital piece this offseason with the signing of former Los Angeles Rams playmaker Cory Littleton. His resume includes leading Sean McVay’s team in tackles the past two seasons and a Pro Bowl invitation in 2018. And he comes off a year in which he finished with 134 stops, 3.5 sacks, a pair of interceptions, two forced fumbles and team bests in passes defensed (9) and fumble recoveries (4).

Also in free agency, the club signed former Chicago Bears’ linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski, who comes off a year in which he made a career-best eight starts and racked up 68 defensive tackles and three sacks. Meanwhile, the team parted ways with Tahir Whitehead this off season. The one-time member of the Detroit Lions’ was the Silver and Black’s leading tackler each of the past two seasons.

Then there’s three-year pro Nicholas Morrow, who has played in all 48 games with the team the past three seasons. In 2019, he finished with third on the team with 67 defensive tackles, to go along with an interception, four passes defensed and six special teams’ stops. Suddenly he’s the “veteran” of Paul Guenther’s defense and could be in for a highly-productive year with his new teammates.

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