Raiders UDFA rookie Nicholas Morrow is showing up big time already

The Oakland Raiders have a way of finding diamonds in the rough. Whether as late round draft picks or undrafted free agents, this team is chalk full of players that most of the NFL passed on. Two games into the season and this year’s unheralded find appears to be undrafted free agent linebacker Nicholas Morrow.

While Cory James has locked down one of the inside linebacker roles, the other has been split between Marquel Lee, Tyrell Adams and Nicholas Morrow. But on Sunday, Morrow really set himself apart from Adams and Lee.

First off, Morrow just played more snaps, logging 45% of the defensive snaps while Adams played 38% and Marquel Lee had the least of the group playing only 18% of the defensive snaps.  But this is more than just about Morrow getting onto the field for more snaps than Adams or Lee, it’s that when he’s on the field, he flashes like neither of the other two do.

On Sunday, Morrow finished the game with only three tackles which isn’t very impressive, but he also had a tackle for a loss and a pass defensed. That’s a whole lot better than what we saw from Adams (three tackles, no TFL or PD) and Lee (two tackles no TFL no PD).

Morrow also had a tackle for a loss in week one so doing it again in week two shows that his play against the Titans was no fluke. Morrow can play.

And perhaps the most impressive part of Morrow is found on tape rather than in the stat box. Morrow is one of those guys who makes you notice him because he’s almost always around the ball. He’s not always making the play, but he’s in the vicinity more often than not. He’s got good athleticism and speed while also doing a decent job of getting off blocks. He’s by no means a world beater but at the moment, he looks like the best inside linebacker not named Cory James that the Raiders have on their roster.

It’s a long season and Morrow will have to continue to improve before he’s named the starter opposite James, but it’s only two games into the season and he’s already got a big lead over Lee and Adams.