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NAPA, Calif. -- Through the first four days of training camp, it's clear the Oakland Raiders are counting on their own developing talent as much if not more than gains they made in free agency in their quest for a winning record for the first time since 2002. A case in point - defensive tackle Dan Williams. The 15-game starter as a free agent a year ago who performed capably as an inside presence and run-stopper has taken a back seat to both Justin "Jelly" Ellis and Jihad Ward.
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Ellis, operating as a nose tackle in what is essentially a 5-2 front, has simply outplayed Williams up to this point. He was a fourth-round draft pick in 2014, the same draft that landed Khalil Mack and Derek Carr.
"Thus far, we as a staff think Jelly is a little ahead of Dan, but we're a long way from lining up in September," Raiders coach Jack Del Rio said. "Competition brings out the best. Right now, as we're stacking up practices, Jelly is a little bit ahead."
Williams is scheduled to make more than $7 million this season. In 2015, he and Ellis often started alongside each other.
Through the offseason and early training camp, the Raiders are putting Mack and free agent linebacker Bruce Irvin on the outside, with one or the other capable of putting his hand down as an end and the other standing up as a third linebacker.
Ward, a second-round draft pick out of Illinois, has been immediately getting a long look as a starting lineman, along with Ellis and Mario Edwards Jr., last year's second-round draft pick.
Another home grown talent who appears to be getting a bigger role is inside linebacker Ben Heeney, who was given the green dot signifying the responsibility of being the defensive signal caller.
"He's smart, fast and relentless," defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. said. "He has a nose for the ball, very instinctive. He's always getting better. You can't get him out of the film room."
Heeney, at 6-foot, 230 pounds, is a fifth-round draft pick and not necessarily a prototype middle linebacker. But with linemen who can tie up blockers, Heeney does have explosive sideline-to-sideline capability.
The trick is to keep Heeney playing fast, but not too fast.
"There's a lot of times I was overaggressive last year," Heeney said. "You definitely want to slow the game down as far as seeing your reads, but I like to play fast, go get the ball and make plays."
NOTES: G Kelechi Osemele was back at practice and on the left side Monday after missing the previous day. ... TE Mychal Rivera has made some big plays in the passing game, fighting to retain snaps with the offense as Clive Walford makes a challenge to start. ... QB Connor Cook was back at practice Monday after missing practice the previous day to attend the funeral of a former Michigan State teammate. ... RB DeAndre Washington, a fifth-round draft pick, has impressed as an inside runner at practice and had a big play on a screen pass. ... DE Denico Autry remains on the physically unable to perform list with an undisclosed injury to his wrist. ... LB Bruce Irvin is raising the level of intensity at practice, and got into a brief scuffle with RB Taiwan Jones.
