We are now a quarter of the way through our countdown, hitting 75 days until the Raiders kick off the 2017 season. To mark it, we will do the same thing we’ve done every day since we hit double digits — we profile the player wearing the number now and who wore it best.
DT Darius Latham
Coming out of Indiana, he was probably the most highly touted undrafted rookie last year. He quickly showed his coaches last offseason why he was considered a draftable player despite no team selecting him.
While he didn’t set the league on fire, he had played himself into position to be part of the rotation at defensive tackle.
The 6-5, 305-pounder appeared in 14 games last season, starting two, collecting 17 tackles. He is now once again in the mix at defensive tackle along with Justin Ellis, and could even push for a starting job once camp arrives.
Who wore it best: DE Howie Long
Howard Michael Long was drafted by the Raiders in the 2nd round in 1981, the year after the Raiders had won their second Super Bowl. In his third season with the team, he would be a major factor in the team getting their third ring in franchise history. That season was his first as a fulltime starter and he named to his first Pro Bowl with 13.0 sacks. And he followed that up with two seasons being named All Pro.
In total Howie went to 8 Pro Bowls in his 13-year NFL career, including his final two seasons at the age of 32 and 33. He was inducted in the Hall of Fame in 2000 in his second year of eligibility. He has also been a long time studio analyst on the Fox NFL gameday crew. Both his sons Chris and Kyle are successful NFL players, not to mention are highly entertaining personalities, so clearly a chip off the old block.
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