Silver And Black Pride
Diving into one of the Raiders’ most notable UDFAs
The Las Vegas Raiders have drawn some praise recently for signing defensive end Jah Joyner as an undrafted free agent. Many, myself included, thought the former Minnesota Golden Gopher would get selected in the late rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft, largely due to his impressive 2023 campaign.
Two years ago, Joyner logged 7.5 sacks and ranked second among Big 10 edge rushers with 46 total pressures, per Pro Football Focus. The latter was especially impressive considering he out-produced Nic Scourton (second round), JT Tuimoloau (second round) and Jack Sawyer (fourth round), all of whom were selected in last month’s draft.
Despite rushing the passer 31 more times this past season, Joyner’s production dipped to just 4.5 sacks and 31 pressures, to help explain why he slipped through the cracks. However, he still showed a handful of quality pass rush moves and the ability to tie moves together, giving the undrafted free agent a chance to make the Raiders’ roster this summer.
We’ll start with a solid hand-swipe move to win around the edge. He does benefit from some bad tackle play to create a short edge, but Joyner sets the move up well by stemming inside with his first step to get the tackle to stop his feet. Then, Joyner knocks the tackle’s outside hand down to “beat the hands, beat the man” and get the quarterback hit.
To be slightly critical of the Minnesota product, he has below-average bend and that’s the difference between this rep being a QB hit and a sack. Notice how when he beats the tackle around the edge, he takes a rounded angle instead of a straight line (or as close to it as possible) to the quarterback.
That leads to a less efficient path and gives more time to throw the ball. It might only be a half-second, but it can be the difference between the pass reaching the target and a negative play for the offense.
This time, we’ll get a couple of examples of inside spin moves that Joyner likes to use as a counter.
In the first one, he tries to win with the hand-swipe seen above, but isn’t able to clear the offensive tackle’s hands. So, he counters by feeling the tackle leaning on him and spinning inside to get the win.
Joyner tries a rip move to beat the offensive lineman outside in the second rep. However, that doesn’t work either, so he goes back to the inside spin move and does a great job of using his right arm/elbow as an “icepick” to escape and put the lineman on the ground. Granted, nothing comes of this rep since the quarterback got the ball out quickly.
What stands out about both of these inside spin moves is that the former Gopher rushes with a plan, trying one move and working another if the initial doesn’t work. Also, he has a feel for when he’s reached the top of...
