Six months after being taken by the Raiders in the second round of the draft, Mario Edwards Jr. is silencing all his doubters.
Though the Raiders lost this past weekend to the Vikings, Edwards – the No. 35 overall pick from Florida State – had another big game. The defensive end played 48 snaps, led his team with 11 tackles and had a sack, a tackle for loss and two quarterback hits.
His coaches and teammates are seeing him grow almost every game, and especially since stepping in for the injured Justin Tuck.
Edwards has been solid against the run, is putting better pressure on opposing quarterbacks and living up to the potential seen by Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie. Edwards has been in on 28 tackles, has 1½ sacks and a fumble recovery.
“I just think he’s becoming everything that the front office and the coaches thought he could be,” teammate Dan Williams, who plays next to him on the defensive line, told the media after the game. “Every day Mario is just trying to get better. I definitely appreciate it, especially playing alongside him, but it’s good to see him grow each week and the more he can do, the more he’s helping us.”
On draft day, it was uncertain how much Edwards would be able to help as a rookie. Many draft evaluators had big doubts about Edwards, the son of former Dallas Cowboys cornerback Mario Edwards. Edwards, listed at 6-foot-3 and 279 pounds by the time of the draft, had only eight sacks in his college career, and at times let his weight climb beyond 300 pounds.
Before the Raiders selected him, NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock said he was “a polarizing conversation in draft circles.”
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“He was 272 as his Pro Day but 310 in August,” he said. “Do you get him when he’s sloppy or in shape?”
Jerry McDonald of the Bay Area News Group wrote that another NFL scout cited concerns about Edwards’ “conditioning and desire.” McDonald also said a draft preview by one analyst called Edwards a “classic underachiever.”
Yet nine games into his rookie season, Edwards has been a prize. He’ll be a key part of the defense for the 4-5 Raiders when they take on the 2-7 Lions Sunday in Michigan. He’s in shape and worked hard. Along with receiver Amari Cooper (Round 1) and tight end Clive Walford (Round 3), Edwards has been part of a terrific trio for McKenzie at the top of the 2015 draft class.
“If you’re a Raider fan, you have to be a Mario Edwards fan,” defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. said recently. “After picking (him) up in the draft where we did, and what he’s been able to do has been great. The improvement that he’s had each and every week, how hard he’s playing, how violent he’s playing, how fun it is to watch him work. I’m really, really impressed with his development.”
