Pinpointing the top 2020 offseason needs for the Las Vegas Raiders
By Ian Higgins
Cornerback
2019 Personnel: Trayvon Mullen, Daryl Worley
One of the major voids in the Las Vegas Raiders roster is currently the cornerback position. Investments at safety have been a smart decision for the future of the franchise with 2019 draft selection Johnathan Abrams, but even the best safeties can not make up for a lack of talent on the outside. With a lack of top-end talent throughout the position group, Las Vegas has a chance to build out a secondary which perfectly complements its prospective coverage scheme.
With great safeties roaming the back-end, Las Vegas’ best option will likely be the popular cover-three system with a roaming safety in the deep middle complemented by 2 zone corners on the outside, and the second (strong) safety dropping down into the box to either defend the run or match up against another team’s inside receiving weapon in either the slot or tight-end.
The 2020 NFL free agency class is a mixed bag of players varying in system-preference and resume. One of the value players who will fit a zone scheme well will be former Panthers corner James Bradberry. His resume in Carolina will warrant a decent contract, but a complementing corner is worth the investment in the modern pass-happy NFL.
Out of the 2020 NFL draft, C.J. Henderson of the Florida Gators had one of the most impressive combines overall and showed off the athleticism that has helped him during his collegiate career. His coverage style at Florida was cap-coverage that focused on staying over the top, similar to a cover three system that Las Vegas will hopefully be implementing.