Raiders’ first-round pick Tyree Wilson says he want to ‘learn from the best’ in Crosby, Jones

On night one of the 2023 NFL Draft, the Las Vegas Raiders selected defensive end Tyree Wilson with their seventh pick.

Wilson is coming off a senior year where he recorded 14 tackles for a loss and seven sacks before a foot injury cut his season short. In his three years as a Red Raider, Wilson logged 69 solo tackles, 29 tackles for a loss and 15.5 sacks. He was also named Second Team Associated Press All-American and First Team Big-12.

In his introductory press conference, he said he’s glad he gets to continue being a Raider, even if the colors are Black and Silver instead of red, and that he’s looking forward to pairing up with defensive ends Chander Jones and Maxx Crosby.

“There are two other great pass rushers, Maxx [Crosby] and Chandler [Jones], and I want to come there and learn from the best and take my game to another level,” Wilson said.

When asked if he envisions playing off of Crosby or Jones, or along with them, Wilson said he’ll play where he fits.

“Wherever they need me. Helping out and being able to give breaks wherever I can,” Wilson added.

Assistant General Manager Champ Kelly pointed out Wilson’s versatility is going to help them keep Crosby and Jones fresh.

“This is a guy who played all across the front. So you can line up with Maxx [Crosby] and Chan [Chandler Jones] and this guy can still find a role to help us rush the quarterback,” Kelly said. “You know he’s even seen dropping in some in some clips. So, we were excited about that as well.”

Time to clock in.@tyreewilson77 pic.twitter.com/4hUhkb2rV4

— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) April 28, 2023

Dave Ziegler, Raiders General Manager, said the team was surprised Wilson was still available when it was their turn to select a player. Wilson’s senior season with Texas Tech was cut short after he suffered a foot injury against Kansas on Nov. 12, 2022.

“Going into it, [we] weren’t sure whether he was going to be there or not,” Ziegler explained. “We had our group of players that we liked in that area, but I think the magic number for us as we went in were how many quarterbacks were going to be taken and who that was going to push down the board. And so, very excited when we saw that he was still there and excited to have him.

“Ultimately we had him here, we felt comfortable with where he is medically and things of that nature. So, it made sense for us. It wasn’t something that ultimately – if it was something that was going to keep us from doing it, obviously we wouldn’t have done that. We have players that aren’t on the board for medical reasons, and we go through a long process of the medical stuff – our
doctors, there was the Combine, the Combine rechecks, then we did our own medical stuff when he was here and we felt comfortable with it.”

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