Filed for print . . .



NAPA _ The Raiders hope to be living large in 2015, and nowhere is that more evident than the middle of their defensive line.



Coach Jack Del Rio is keeping his options open, but visual evidence through nine training camp practices Sunday suggests the Raiders will often line up with an interior mass of 665 pounds with six-year veteran Dan Williams and second-year player Justin Ellis.

“We call them `meat and potatoes,’ ” linebacker Khalil Mack said. “They eat up the middle and send that running back to the high side and create the push-back we need in the middle to make it bounce. It’s going to be fun.”

A quick scan of NFL rosters finds nothing like the 6-foot-2, 330-pound Williams and the 6-2, 335-pound Ellis playing side by side. You may have to go back to Sam Adams and Tony Siragusa (690 pounds) with the 2000 Baltimore Ravens to find a bigger pair. Unlike Adams and Siragusa, the Raiders’ duo is deceptively athletic.

While they look like a pair of classic nose tackles, Williams and Ellis are eager to channel their inner Warren Sapp and display the skills of a three-technique _ a tackle that is quick enough to shoot the gap and push the pocket rather than simply tie up blockers.

“You watch film of Justin as a rookie, he’s very athletic for his size,” Williams said. “I know for a fact I can move. We’ve been big guys our whole life who have been made to run with the little guys.”

Said Raiders defensive line coach Jethro Franklin: “They are big human beings that can eat up some space, but at the same time they’re athletic, so to move them over to three-technique, that’s not going to be a problem at all.”

Raiders center Rodney Hudson, who has faced both players while a member of the Kansas City Chiefs, said it will be a challenge for opposing centers to know which player will be dropping anchor and which one will be shooting the gap.

To see Williams and Ellis up close during a camp practice is a jolt to the senses, particularly when taking a nimble outside loop during a drill.

“Both of them could play a number of spots, and play them well,” Hudson said.

To quarterback Derek Carr, it’s the same realization a rodeo cowboy faces the first time he comes face to face with a snorting bull.

“Obviously those guys have so much strength, but when you see them make that fast movement, how do you get a body that big to move that quick?,” Carr said. “It’s crazy.”

The seismic impact of having Williams and Ellis in the middle would in theory cause a ripple effect, freeing up pass rushers such as Mack and Mario Edwards Jr. to come from the outside, middle linebacker Curtis Lofton to clean up the middle and safety Charles Woodson to get unimpeded hits on ballcarriers.

“To be able to have those guys in the front, we feel like you shouldn’t run the ball on us,” Woodson said. “If they put those guys up there, we should be a very stout defense. That’s what we’re counting on.”

Williams, primarily a nose tackle in a 3-4 defense during his five seasons with the Arizona Cardinals, became the Raiders primary target in free agency once Ndamukong Suh declared he was headed to the Miami Dolphins.

The Raiders signed Williams to a four-year, $25 million contract with $15 million guaranteed and brought in a player eager to clog the middle but also to expand his game.

Williams has watched film of Sapp, Suh and Tampa Bay’s Gerald McCoy, as well as Houston’s J.J. Watt, who is mostly a 3-4 end but can line up anywhere and push the pocket.

“Growing up, I was a chunky kid, but I could always run,” Williams said. “My friends would say, `how do you move like that?’ I’ve tried to be a student of the game and learn from different guys. I know my skill set, and if there’s something I can do similar to guys I see on tape, I’ll definitely try it.”

In high school, Ellis was nicknamed “Jelly Bean” by a coach, which has since been shortened to “Jelly.” Yet Ellis was anything but soft while playing in all 16 games as fourth-round draft pick out of Louisiana Tech with 14 starts.

He played well enough to earn a spot on the Pro Football Writers Association All-rookie team along with Mack.

“I think I surprised some people with how I played and how I moved,” Ellis said. “But a lot of people have played against me now so it’s no surprise.”

Asked what he and Williams can bring to the Raiders defense while playing in tandem, Ellis said, “Beef.”

— Just past the halfway point of training camp, wide receiver Rod Streater and tight end Clive Walford have yet to practice. Streater is on the non-football injury list. Walford had an undisclosed injury during the time rookies were at camp before veterans arrived.

“I think with one we’re trying to determine exactly what we’re dealing with with the non-football situation and the other is very close,” Del Rio said. “Two different situations.”

Also missing practice were tackle Menelik Watson, tight end Lee Smith, fullback Jamize Olawale, running backs Michael Dyer and Roy Helu Jr. and linebacker Sio Moore. Linebacker Malcolm Smith suited up but was limited.

— Family and friends of players and employees of the Raiders enjoyed a post-practice barbecue on the field.