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          Tyree Wilson learning on the job after late start with Raiders

          Tyree Wilson's foot surgeries kept him out of practice until mid-August, but the first-round pick got some game action in the preseason finale. Ron Jenkins/Getty Images
          • Paul Gutierrez, ESPN Staff WriterSep 5, 2023, 10:00 AM
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              Paul Gutierrez joined NFL Nation in 2013 and serves as its Las Vegas Raiders reporter. He has a multi-platform role - writing on ESPN.com, television appearances on NFL Live and SportsCenter, and podcast and radio appearances. Before coming to ESPN, Gutierrez spent three years at CSN Bay Area as a multi-platform reporter, covering the Raiders and Oakland Athletics as well as anchoring the SportsNet Central cable news show. Gutierrez votes for the Baseball Hall of Fame and is also a member of the Professional Football Writers of America and currently serves as the PFWA's Las Vegas chapter president. He is also a member of the California Chicano News Media Association and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. Gutierrez has authored three books: Tommy Davis' Tales from the Dodgers Dugout, 100 Things Raiders Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die and If These Walls Could Talk: Stories from the Raiders Sideline, Locker Room and Press Box with Lincoln Kennedy. You can follow Paul on Twitter @PGutierrezESPN
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          HENDERSON, Nev. -- Still searching for a scouting report on Las Vegas Raiders first-round pick Tyree Wilson's NFL debut?

          Look no further than the account of Matt Millen, the former 12-year NFL inside linebacker and four-time Super Bowl champion who called the edge rusher's first preseason action at the Dallas Cowboys in both teams' exhibition finale.

          "It doesn't matter if you beat the tackle," Millen said on the Raiders' television broadcast. "It matters if you make the tackle."

          Millen was referring to one particular first-quarter play.

          Wilson's as-advertised unique blend of speed and power were on full display, and he was so amped on his bull-rush of Cowboys right tackle Josh Ball that he pushed Ball about five yards back into the lap of quarterback Will Grier. Problem was, Wilson seemed too preoccupied with winning the rep and, despite being bumped into, Grier escaped for a 12-yard gain.

          Hey, it was preseason. And it was Wilson's first game-type action since injuring his right foot at Texas Tech on Nov. 12. He immediately underwent surgery on it, as well as a follow-up procedure in March.

          The Raiders will take it. For now. Especially with the season opener Sunday at the AFC West rival Denver Broncos (4:25 p.m. ET, Empower Field at Mile High, CBS)

          "He showed up in both the running game and the passing game, which was good," Raiders coach Josh McDaniels said of Wilson. "I think his conditioning was fine, relative to the amount of plays we used him. He chased and ran to the ball and was able to create some pressure on the quarterback there a little bit.

          "The part that's hardest to do without being in real game-like action or in pads and padded practices, is the small things that you need to do with great physical toughness, and all those things that you can only do in padded practices. So, he'll see some of those things and, obviously, those will be pinpointed for us as we move forward."

          Wilson, who began training camp on the Non-Football Injury list, did not begin practicing with the Raiders until Aug. 16. Ten days later, he was suited up in his home state of Texas.

          He played 12 defensive snaps and had one tackle, stopping Cowboys fullback Hunter Luepke after a 2-yard gain in the first quarter.

          "It felt good," Wilson said. "I just had to trust the process. I was eager to get on the field right away, but I trust the trainers, the coaches, the personnel department, to have the right plan to get me back on the field at the right time.

          "I'm a competitor, so it was frustrating. They were in my ear every day, 'Trust the process, trust the process.' I just had to believe in the process and know that they were doing the right thing and what was best for my health."

          The Raiders invested a lot in Wilson, using the No. 7 overall pick to add him to what already seemed like a strength of an oft-porous defense -- the pass rush.

          Because while the Raiders had just 27 sacks as a team, which ranked 30th in the NFL, defensive end Maxx Crosby was named to his second straight Pro Bowl after racking up a career-best 12.5 sacks.

          And 11-year veteran Chandler Jones, who was playing his best football after a slow start when he went down with an elbow injury in Week 16, is expecting a rebound season. He has also taken the 6-foot-6, 275-pound Wilson under his wing.

          So to speak.

          "All of the young players, whatever opportunity they have to talk to me and try to pick my brain, they do, especially Tyree," Jones said early in camp. "But all the young players, they kind of see me as they older OG. They know that I have a lot of knowledge in this game, and they pick my brain every chance they get."

          Wilson is the eager student.

          "You see him asking a ton of questions and getting better," Crosby said. "So, it's awesome to see him out there with us."

          Wilson is also the student who passed on the lesson plan when he was sidelined.

          "Me not being able to be on the field," he said, "I was coaching up the other young guys with me and getting visual reps while not being on the field to help when ... I got on the field.

          "I feel great. Ready to continue to build and keep stacking days and build it with my brothers."

          And provide more fulfilling scouting reports, no doubt.