While much of the draft community has been debating whether or not Damon Arnette was worthy of a first-round pick, the Raiders did add a cornerback in the fourth round that seems to have everyone in agreement.
Amik Robertson was projected to be drafted as high as the second round (though most saw him as a third-round pick), but fell to the fourth round where the Raiders pounced on him with pick 139. At that draft position, Pro Football Focus called Robertson one of the biggest “steals” of the draft.
“If we had to pick who the biggest ‘Gruden Grinder’ was in this class, Amik Robertson would certainly be up there,” PFF’s Anthony Treash wrote on Monday.
“He’s incredibly feisty and plays like he’s a lot bigger than his 5-foot-9 stature. Robertson posted the highest grade of any cornerback over the past two years, and the ball production he had at his size is almost unbelievable. There wasn’t a higher-graded cornerback on contested balls than Robertson the past two seasons — he allowed only nine catches on 38 targets with 24 forced incompletions. He might be a slot-only player because of that size, but his physicality, instincts and short-area quickness are what you want in your secondary.”
Robertson was unquestionably one of the toughest (and most physical) players in the draft. Despite his size (or lack thereof), he had success against receivers of all sizes in college.
If we’ve learned anything about Gruden in the last couple years, it’s that he loves tight ends and fullbacks like his own children and he covets physical cornerbacks. Don’t expect soft play at cornerback from the Raiders anytime soon. Arnette and Robertson will join second-year starters Johnathan Abram and Trayvon Mullen to form one of the most physical secondaries in the NFL… and are a good bet to lead the NFL in penalties next year.
But what else is new, right?
One final note on Robertson. Look what he was up to immediately following the draft…
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