Silver And Black Pride
Diving into what the UCLA linebacker could bring to the Raiders
From not being ranked in the 2021 recruiting class and walking on at UCLA to becoming a first-team All-American and a top linebacker prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft, Carson Schwesinger is arguably the biggest riser in the draft class.
Schwesinger had only played about 100 defensive snaps heading into this season, according to Pro Football Focus, and didn’t become a starter until Week 4. However, he managed to lead the country with 90 solo tackles (136 total), recorded nine TFL, four sacks and came down with two interceptions last fall to gain the league’s attention.
With the Las Vegas Raiders expected to be looking for a linebacker at the end of the month, the former Bruin is likely on John Spytek’s and Pete Carroll’s radar. So, let’s dive into the tape and see what he could bring to Las Vegas, where he would reunite with new Las Vegas offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, who recruited and coached Schwesinger at UCLA for three seasons.
His pro day was Wednesday and it’s clear he will have a lot of interest in the draft.
One of the first elements of Schwesinger’s game that stands out on tape is his athleticism, specifically his lateral movement skills. That helps him mirror running backs in the backfield and make tackles outside of his gap like the one above.
Nebraska runs a simple inside zone where the hole naturally opens up in the backside A-gap against UCLA’s front. So, Schwesinger initially steps downhill to take that lane away from the running back, who responds by bouncing to the backside C-gap. Meanwhile, Schwesinger uses his change of direction skills and agility to match the back’s path and make the tackle well outside of his responsibility for a short, two-yard gain.
His lateral movement skills were a big reason why the UCLA product ranked fourth among Big 10 linebackers with 29 ‘defensive stops’ as a run defender last season despite only taking 267 snaps against the run, per PFF.
Here we’ll see a similar play, just on the goal line against Minnesota. The clip above also is a good highlight of the linebacker’s instincts against the run despite not getting much playing time in college.
Post-snap, his first step is downhill to make sure the running back isn’t looking to jump over the center to score on the short-yardage run. But once he sees the back eying the C-gap or outside and the two lead blockers working toward the perimeter, Schwesigner uses his agility to avoid the trash and attack the lane that opens up. Finally, he has the speed to beat the running back to the hole and come up with the TFL for a goal line stop.
Again, for not having much on-field experience, the former Bruin’s ability to quickly key and diagnose run plays is pretty impressive. That combined with quickness and athleticism allows him to run all over the field.
As one would imagine,...
