The Raiders suffered through a miserable season in 2025 and going into the offseason there were big questions around multiple position groups, including the cornerback group.
But with Eric Stokes re-signed in the offseason and two intriguing rookies added to the mix, there is more optimism around the Raiders’ cornerback room than there has been in years.
The other major change in the offseason was the departure of Pete Carroll and Patrick Graham, who apparently weren’t on the same page at any point last year with what to do with the defense.
With Rob Leonard promoted to defensive coordinator, beat writers around the team seem to agree the Raiders will be more aggressive in terms of blitz packages, but based on comments this week from Raider Nation Radio host Q Myers, there might be another major scheme shift coming under Leonard.
More man coverage coming in 2026?
Press coverage was once a staple of the Al Davis Raiders, and it sounds like man coverage might be coming back.
“There’s a lot of man coverage. There’s a lot of bump and run at the line of scrimmage, which is right up my alley.
That’s how I like to see them play.” Myers said on the Locked on Raiders Squad Show.
“[Decamerion Richardson] is making a name for himself and I’ll tell you, I don’t know if you saw him last night, but the dude is ear to ear with a smile on his face and there’s something about that. When you have that smile, when you have that confidence… And he told me straight up, ‘I get to play more press man and that’s what I’m comfortable with doing.’ McCoy said the same thing. ‘I get to play that press man. I’m more comfortable with that.'”
“Questions about Masses and his physicality. Guess what he’s been doing? Playing press man and being physical.”
Raiders’ defense will bring the heat in 2026
Jesse Merrick talked about the new-look defense last month and he believes the Raiders will blitz nearly a third of the time in Leonard’s first year as defensive coordinator.
“I think we see them bring the heat next year and blitz over 30 percent of the time,” Merrick said on his Silver & Black Sports Network podcast in July.
“Here’s the rationale… We know the background on Leonard in terms of learning from guys like Steve Spagnuolo, Brian Flores, Patrick Graham, and Mike McDonald. Like I’ve said on the show, I think we see pieces of each of those guys, but in particular, Flores and Spagnuolo are known for blitzing a ton,” Merrick continued.
“Last year, the Vikings led the league in blitz rate at 48 percent, and the Chiefs were fourth in the league at 31.4 percent. For reference, the Raiders’ blitz rate was 21.7 percent last year. So, I’m calling for a jump of about 9 percent. We’re approaching the 10 percent jump range there, which would put the Raiders in the top six or seven in the league in blitzing very likely next season.”
Decamerion Richardson beginning to emerge in year 3?
A lot can change when the pads come on, but Richardson was largely a forgotten member of the secondary going into the offseason.
But as of this week, Richardson is listed as a second-string cornerback on the depth chart and Sports Illustrated insider Hondo Carpenter believes the former fourth round pick will probably make Greedy Vance the odd man out in the secondary.
Myers talked about Richardson this week and said Richardson is playing with a lot of confidence right now.
“[Decamerion] Richardson… He’s second team behind Eric Stokes with Jermod McCoy, the fourth-round pick with the first-round talent behind him on the third team,” Myers said on the Locked on Raiders podcast.
“I know that that caught some people off guard. Why is Jermod McCoy third on the depth chart? Because [Richardson] is actually playing really well. That was one of the things I said to [Richardson] during our interview, and he’s not a guy that is going to talk a whole lot.”
“But he even said that he’s playing with a lot of confidence right now… There was a time when he came in as a fourth-round pick out of Mississippi State, and now all of a sudden, he’s a three-year veteran, and he’s got a whole new makeup of that secondary. That room looks different. I started to think… he’s probably going to struggle to make the roster, but everything he’s done in camp so far has looked good. The thing with [Richardson], he’s looked good before without the pads on, but when the pads have come on, it kind of disappears… and this year, he’s been noticed, you notice [Richardson] out there.”
x: @raidersbeat