Linebacker Marquel Lee is halfway through his second season with the Oakland Raiders. He was drafted in the fifth round in 2017, out of Wake Forest with the hopes of becoming a regular starter. This year Lee has shown why he has a future in the Silver and Black.
In Lee’s first season he didn’t play a lot of snaps. He started six games and played in a total of 13, making 18 solo and 25 total tackles. These numbers have improved significantly in 2018.
Lee has started seven out of eight games so far this season and is receiving a lot more field time in those games. He has been on the field for 60.5 percent of defensive snaps. That is the second most of all linebackers behind Tahir Whitehead. Lee is also prolific on special teams seeing over 80 percent of snaps.
He has the physical attributes you look for in an every-down linebacker and he is always quick to break on the throw. He has good positional awareness and never shies away from contatct.
Lee also has plenty of things to work on for his game to go to the next level, but the Raiders and fans alike are impressed with what they have seen so far.
In 2018, Lee is using his size and speed to dominate the line. He already has more tackles at the halfway point of this season then he did all of last season and is improving week to week. He has 24 solo tackles and 45 totals going into the ninth game of the season.
This week the Raiders welcome the Los Angeles Chargers to the Alameda Coliseum. This will be a huge test for a young player looking to make a name for himself and continue to further his career. The Chargers are on a six-game winning streak and love running the football against the opposition.
Lee will need to be on his game if he is to show the rest of the league what Raiders fans are starting to see in him. Big things are coming for this kid from Wake Forest.