For the first half of his rookie season, Raiders linebacker Ben Heeney didn’t see much action.
The former Kansas Jayhawk was a backup to starting middle linebacker Curtis Lofton, a high-priced veteran brought in over the offseason to shore up a leaky run defense.
But Lofton never met expectations and was woeful in pass coverage. When the coaching staff gave Heeney a shot in Game No. 10 against the Lions, he had seven tackles, a sack and broke up a pass.
For the remainder of the season the fifth-round pick was the man in the middle of the Oakland defense. He wasn’t a big man by NFL standards at 6 feet and 226 pounds, but the Raiders loved the way he flew around the field, had a nose for the football and tackled.
Over the final six games he was in on 32 stops and had 2½ sacks. He also provided a much better level of pass coverage than Lofton, who was let go in the offseason.
Now, as the Raiders get ready for their third exhibition game of the summer Saturday night against the Tennessee Titans in Oakland, Heeney is an overshadowed piece of a defense with big names such as Khalil Mack, Sean Smith, Bruce Irvin, Reggie Nelson and No. 1 pick Karl Joseph.
But Heeney, targeted as the team’s starter for Game 1 this season, says he feels like a different player now than a year ago after seeing so much action in 2015.
Raiders
“It definitely gives me confidence and makes me feel like I can play fast,” he recently told Andy Furillo of the Sacramento Bee.
Some have questioned whether Heeney can be a premier performer at middle linebacker at his size, but his Raiders teammates say such questions don’t have merit. They love the way he plays.
“He’s not the biggest guy, but he plays bigger than what he is,” outside linebacker Irvin told Paul Guiterrez of ESPN.com. “The guy leaves it out there for me. He’s a team guy. That’s the biggest thing, having a bunch of team guys who are willing to leave it out there for each other. I can already tell Ben is one of those guys.”
