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After a fantastic rookie season, defensive tackle Maurice Hurst took a step backward in his sophomore season. He started just four games, tallying only 3.5 sacks despite playing more snaps than he did as a rookie.
Entering his third season, Hurst is in somewhat of a make-or-break season in 2020. The Raiders signed veteran Maliek Collins to give them more pass-rushing stability and he could very well push Hurst out of snaps.
However, there are a few reasons to believe that Hurst could have a massive 2020 season, especially with new defensive line coach Rod Marinelli in the fold. In a recent article by Pro Football Focus, Ben Linsey explained why Hurst might be the Raiders’ biggest breakout star this season. Here is a quick snippet of his thoughts on the former Michigan defensive tackle:
Hurst started to pick things up in that area toward the second half of the season, however, and more importantly, he was among the league’s best at getting after the quarterback on the interior. Hurst finished behind only Aaron Donald, Kenny Clark and Chris Jones in pass-rushing grade and pass-rush win rate over the last nine weeks of the season. That “pass-rushing toolbox that no interior player in this class can come close to matching” began to take form on the field.
According to Pro Football Focus, Hurst was graded as the sixth-best defensive tackle in the NFL from Week 9-17 last season. It was clear that he was a significantly different player in the second half of the season and he became one of the better pass-rushing defensive tackles in the league.
If Hurst can continue to play at that level for the entirety of the 2020 season, he should easily beat out Collins for snaps and could be looking at a double-digit sack season for the Raiders. Can Marinelli get the most out of Hurst this season? That will be one of the most interesting storylines to follow during the year.
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