Based on reports from training camp, the Raiders are going to be in a little better position at cornerback than what it looked like a few months ago.
Jack Jones has been one of the most dynamic players in camp, according to several reports, and second-year player Jakorian Bennett hasn’t been far behind. Nate Hobbs hasn’t lost a step, and it sounds like a rookie cornerback has made a big impression in training camp, as well.
The Raiders selected Mississippi State cornerback Demerion Richardson in the fourth-round of this year’s draft and most of the talk around Richardson leading into training camp was about his speed. He was the third fastest cornerback at the NFL combine (4.34 forty time), but another trait has caught the attention of at least one insider at Raiders training camp.
“I think there was a cartoon once called Inspector Gadget, where a guy had all these arms, and he could make them super long. Richardson’s arms are so long that he almost looks like Inspector Gadget,” Raiders insider Hondo Carpenter said on the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast. “The way he uses them, his eye discipline, his hand discipline, they have really with him on that and he has taken the coaching.”
“I thought he was going to be more of a project than what he is,” Hondo continued. “I know he started two years in the SEC and all that. I just thought he would be a project because of some of the technique that had to be repaired. [They] have worked with him, and he stepped into training camp, retained everything he learned, and never looked back. He will play a lot this year.”
For what it’s worth, Richard Sherman has been considered a prototype for long-armed cornerbacks in the NFL and Richardson’s 32 3/8 arms compare favorably to Sherman (32), as does his wingspan (77 7/8 compared to 78 for Sherman).
And as an aside, the Raiders actually drafted a cornerback this year even lankier than Richardson. MJ Devonshire was the final pick of the Raiders draft, and his arms measure 78 3/4 and his arms are 32 7/8.
Safe to say we know the attributes Raiders GM Tom Telesco is looking for in his cornerbacks.
x: @raidersbeat