As of the first week of June, the cornerback position looks to be one of the weakest position groups on the Raiders’ roster.
The most accomplished returning cornerback on the roster is third-year player Jakorian Bennett, who was drafted in the fourth round by Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler in 2023.
When the Raiders released Jack Jones in April, many believed Bennett would step into the role as the team’s no. 1 cornerback.
Through the opening weeks of OTAs, though, Bennett hasn’t been taking many first-team reps. Whether that’s because of a shoulder injury he’s been recovering from since last year or something else, The Athletic’s Tashan Reed mentioned on the Just Win podcast this week that Bennett might not be the best fit for the defensive scheme Pete Carroll is looking to run.
“I don’t think it’s just because of the injury,” Reed said of Bennett’s lack of first-team reps. “I think that’s part of it. According to his position coach, he said last week that he’s still working his way back from the shoulder injury. I think he’s looked pretty good in practice. I don’t think it’s a statement against him. He’s performing poorly or something like that.”
“But I just think there’s going to be a competition there, legitimately. I don’t think he’s guaranteed to be a starter this year by any means,” Reed continued. “We’ve talked ad nauseum about the types of defensive backs that Pete Carroll likes and Jakorian Bennett is a little bit shorter for a Pete Carroll DB. He’s about 5’10. I think they list him at 5’11, but he’s more so 5’10.”
“Darien Porter is that lanky 6’3 build and even Eric Stokes is in between 6’1 and so I think he’s going to have to really ball out and separate himself from the other cornerbacks in order to get a starting spot with this defense.”
The good news for Bennett, though, is that defensive coordinator Patrick Graham is still in the building and Bennett has proven he can play at a high level in Graham’s scheme.
As for Porter, there’s a good chance Carroll and GM John Spytek are going to want him on the field as much as possible for the purpose of gaining experience. Whether or not that dynamic could affect Bennett or someone else remains to be seen.
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