Who are the true NT's of the defensive tackle pool, and will that make them likely picks for the Raiders, or the opposite?

This is a brief look at a few guys whose stock is currently rising due the number of teams going to 3-4 alignments, or the teams with existing 3-4s looking to potentially upgrade their positions, and get some youth and depth. These are tomorrow's Haloti Ngati, Kris Jenkins, the Vince Wilforks and Casey Hamptons. These are some of the top guys (on draft boards, anyways). I admit, I don't get to watch college, and don't see them in action. I will provide whatever video highlights I can, but we all know highlight reels can be as bs as stats often can. Click on their names for links to their profiles on NFLdraftscout.com:

Dan Williams, 6'3", 327. Tennessee.

All I can really say is he's moving up boards because of what folks are saying about his abilities in the 3-4, and a few teams like WA, Miami, maybe even Cleveland, will be looking to go 3-4. His Tennessee page: link

and: video  You can pretty much see why Eric Berry is as good as he is. I think I'd get some pick sixes with that guy killing opposing qbs and owning two lineman consistently. A true 3 technique guy. Projected in the mid first round, I woudn't mind seeing him a Raider.

Cam Thomas, 6'4", 330, North Carolina. Sounds kinda like a "Cable guy"

This from his profile on NFLdraftscout.com:  "I really don't ask about my stock," Thomas said. "I really don't want to know because I don't want to get caught up in that stuff. I'm just every day working out, working hard. In April, that's when everything falls into place." Thomas, who is 6-foot-3 and 330 pounds, said he enjoys taking on two blockers when he's playing nose. "I love guerilla warfare, baby," he said. "That's where you earn your stripes. I got my stripes.

Projected now in the mid to late second round, having moved up consistently since the senior bowl; it appears as though the increased interest in NTs for the 3-4 has escalated stock of these guys. Could be a great pick for us in the second. This:video     Dude's pretty beastly, but part of a solid front seven unit. Could be a team first guy, too.

I don't care if we go 3-4 or not; I want a guy who knows how to handle double teams. If the first NT type goes early, all of these guys will move up the boards, and our pick level might be right there. His senior bowl page: link

I think he'd complete for a starting job with Kelly immediately. He'd make him, and the rest of the line better doing so.

Torrell Troup, 6'3", 314, UCF

link to his page at central Florida. Don't know much about him, but he looks like an NFL NT, and his highlights show some interesting skills, but it's hard for me to get too excited about them, because these skills don't always show up in the pros. I couldn't find much for easily accessible film on this guy; here's a big play in the East-West game: video

Linval Joseph, 6'5, 328 (it's funny, I think it says 6'6", 315 in his video, ha ha!)

Exciting prospect someone here pointed out. Huge wingspan on this guy, and he seems to use it a lot to contain the passer, and disrupt passing lanes when he doesn't get the sack, tackle for loss, or forced fumble. Seems to have a nasty streak to him necessary to battle NFL guys, and a big body too. I remembered him from discussing him here, which is why he was in this mix of guys, who fall in a variety of places on the board, which gives the Raiders multiple choices of where to take the guys. video

I'd love Brian Price, especially for us, but don't see him being looked at as hard as the teams looking for a Ngata type NT to work in their newly installed, or revamped 3-4 schemes.

Of course we all know of others we've all talked about, but there's only a few that I think have the size and ability to play NT and be dominant at the pro level. We'll see how many pan out. This is all of them, almost : video

I didn't include the obvious Suh, Price, and McCoy, but of the others, the size guys like Cody will be the NTs. We've discussed Cody, and these were just some arbitrary names I believe I picked out from hearing discussions on NFL radio and discussing here at Silver and Black Pride.

By all means, join the fun, and talk about who you love, and why, and who's a true NT and who's not, especially how it relates to the Raiders and their current best options.