Ed Oliver has played his last college football game, and the Oakland Raiders could be in his future.
The highly touted defensive lineman announced Friday on Twitter that he will skip the University of Houston’s bowl game to start preparations for the 2019 NFL Draft.
Oliver missed four games this season with a bruised right knee, and he aggravated a knee injury in the regular-season finale against Memphis. He doesn’t want to risk additional issues in an as-yet-undetermined bowl game that could impact his draft stock.
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The Raiders will have a high draft pick in 2019, thanks to a disastrous season — selections acquired in Amari Cooper and Khalil Mack trades with Dallas and Chicago, respectively, will be low with those teams surging toward the postseason -– and desperately need help along the defensive front.
Oliver is a monster at 6-foot-2 and 290 pounds, and he has a nonstop motor in disrupting plays from the interior. He can win with finesse or power.
NFL
The Raiders need help off the edge, and they drafted interior players Maurice Hurst and P.J. Hall in last year’s draft, but Oliver could be appealing with a high pick. They need explosive playmakers across the defensive line to help an NFL-worst run defense and an equally poor pass rush.
Oliver had 193 tackles, including 54 for a loss, and 13.5 sacks in three seasons with the Cougars. He had a rocky end of his college tenure due to injury and an on-field dustup with Houston coach Major Applewhite over a jacket.
Here’s the full tweet Oliver sent Friday.