5 players the Raiders need to play well to beat the Dolphins
By John Buhler
28. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. LB. Denzel Perryman. 2. player. Las Vegas Raiders
Denzel Perryman needs to be in the middle of everything defensively
The early returns on the Denzel Perryman trade with the Carolina Panthers have been favorable for the Silver and Black. He has come over and slotted right into the Raiders defense. Of course, it helps a ton that he is playing in the same system that he did for defensive coordinator Gus Bradley when they were members of the Los Angeles Chargers organization. Regardless, it is working out.
The reason why Perryman is so high up on this list of Raiders who need to play well to beat the Dolphins is pretty simple: With a limited Tagovailoa, expect for the Dolphins to try to the ball effectively, or at the very least, try to make a few easy completions between the hash marks to move the sticks. So if Perryman is not a tackling machine on Sunday, the Raiders could struggle.
The good news is he leads the Raiders in combined tackles with 22 on the season, 11 solo and 11 assists. Perryman led the way last week vs. the Steelers with 12 total tackles and six of the solo variety. He may not have to force a fumble or even sack the quarterback, but Perryman needs to help the Raiders be a tone-setter once again defensively. He has been incredible thus far for them.
Combined with a strong pass rush and the Raiders could be cooking with gas defensively Sunday.