NFL Draft Prospect Spotlight: Tyler Shelvin
The Las Vegas Raiders have made moves to strengthen their defensive line this offseason.
They signed Pro Bowl pass-rusher Yannick Ngakoue, who has 45.5 sacks in five years.
They signed former third overall pick defensive end Solomon Thomas and defensive tackle Quinton Jefferson.
They also re-signed defensive tackle, Johnathan Hankins.
Even with all of those additions, the Raiders could still use some big bodies up front to go against the run.
LSU defensive tackle Tyler Shelvin is a player who can plug up the run among the best of them.
At 6-3 and 346 pounds, Shelvin is the one-gap nose tackle type who instantly tightens up the interior of a defense.
He’s able to get into a low squat to give him great leverage over whoever is across from him.
Shelvin handles double-teams well, and can use a quicker than expected first-step to keep opponents off balance.
Coming in at that size, though, there is potential for excessive weight problems to pop up.
Shelvin did weigh up to 375 pounds at one-point last fall, making it something teams will have to consider.
Having that weight also means that Shelvin might not be able to play every down consistently.
There’s also the one-nature aspect of his game. Shelvin is really only good against the running game, not in the passing game.
In his last full season in 2019, he only had six quarterback pressures on 316 rushes.
With that said, players like Shelvin still have key roles on a defensive line.
His ability to eliminate one whole aspect of an offense in the running game can make it that much easier on the defense.
New defensive coordinator Gus Bradley has had experience with players like Shelvin, such as defensive end Red Bryant from his Seattle days.
Bryant was not a pass rusher either, but brought great run defense.
With his strength, size, and plug-in nature, Shelvin could be a strong rotational player for any team.
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