Raiders Tyler Brayton Moved To Defensive End - Oakland Tribune

Coach Art Shell reshapes the Oakland Defense.

Raiders LB experiments have mixed results
Irons finds himself a new home, while Brayton returns to defensive end spot
By Bill Soliday, STAFF WRITER - Oakland Tribune

NAPA — When last visited, Oakland Raiders defensive ends Tyler Brayton and Grant Irons were being reinvented into linebackers — one willingly, one if not unwillingly, with at least a degree of skepticism.
One switch worked. One didn't, and change is in effect.
Brayton is back at defensive end, the position at which he was drafted in the first round in 2003. Irons, an undrafted rookie that same year, is still plying his trade as a linebacker.
Both are delighted. And, in Brayton's case, there is no longer need for defensive coordinator Rob Ryan to tell his player to keep his thoughts to himself and just play ball.
"Sometimes you have certain needs, and people have to adapt to those needs," Ryan said by way of explaining originally switching Brayton.
There has been speculation that the move took the heart out of Brayton, who was drafted largely because of his nonstop motor. Ryan would disagree.
"Tyler has always been a team player," he said. "Right now, he is working down at defensive end, and obviously that's where we think it's best for the team.
"With him, you always get hard work, and you always get 100 percent. That's all you can ask from a guy."
Irons had an impressive debut in last weekend's exhibition opener against the Philadelphia Eagles, living up to the nickname coaches and teammates have bestowed upon him — "Game Ready."
He administered a sack, forcing Jeff Garcia to fumble and threw running back Bruce Perry for a 5-yard loss.
"This is my fifth year in the NFL," Irons said, explaining that his goal is to play with what he calls aggressivefrom Sports 1
passion. "Each and every year there is more to learn, and I want to improve and get better. It's all been a learning experience and a great journey."
"He's been doing a great job," Ryan said. "He has really improved. He's another smart guy. He has great talent. His abilities really help us on defense. He can make plays. We like those kinds of guys."
There wasn't much to Brayton's first game back at end. He had one tackle, and it would be a stretch to say the starting line distinguished itself.
However, if happiness is the measure of a man's potential, Brayton's future looks bright indeed.
It was during the off-season that Brayton learned he was being reinstalled at end.
"It was still on the fence going into the off-season," he said. "I just kind of took it upon myself. I got in the weight room ... put on a few pounds. I just put it in my mind that's where I was going to be, and it turned out that's where coaches told me to be. Once I found that out, I knew I was going in the right direction."
Coach Art Shell broke the news to Brayton.
"I said 'Tyler, you're a defensive end,'" Shell recounted. "He said, 'Thanks a lot, coach. I really appreciate it. I'll show you what I can do from that position.'"
For the most part, Brayton toed the company line when he had been asked to play in the up position. However, on occasion he acknowledged the strangeness of it all.
"I had played my entire career with my hand on the ground," he said.
However, if he was fighting it, he kept it to himself.
"It was one of those deals where I'm going to do whatever they ask me to do the best I can," he said. "You can't sit there and complain about anything. My (approach) was it wasn't a position, it was a disposition. So, outside linebacker, defensive end — there wasn't a ton of difference. But it's definitely a lot more comfortable being a defensive end."
Brayton refuses to say the experiment was a total loss.
"Playing outside linebacker has given me a whole new perspective," he said. "You get to see the whole field. You know what everybody does on the defense. You understand what we're trying to accomplish with every blitz and every movement, in every defense.
"Sometimes, when you play defensive line, you get locked in and think 'I need to be here or here,' and that's it. You don't really understand why. Understanding helps you get the job done that much better.
"I don't think it was a waste at all."
Brayton wants to play at 270 pounds. Although he was being fashioned as a linebacker carrying 10 fewer pounds, the team believes he is stout enough to play on goal-line situations.
"I think 270 is an ideal weight for me," he said. 'It's just a matter of getting used to getting my pads down again, getting underneath blockers."
Getting used to being at home.