Entering last season, the expectations for what first-round safety Johnathan Abram were through the roof. That roof caved in on the rookie quickly. Early in his first game out there, he was lost to a shoulder injury and out for the season.
Now heading into his second season, everyone is again looking forward to seeing what he can do.
In his first training camp last year, the storylines about him were mostly how he was running around hitting his teammates, something he has been careful not to do this year in his attempt to stay healthy.
Despite that bit of wisdom, this is, for all intents and purposes, a new start for Abram. That’s certainly how his defensive coordinator sees it.
“He played 30 minutes for us last year, so he’s kind of going through it again like a rookie year,” said Paul Guenther early in training camp.
The idea that Abram could be a rookie at this point came as a surprise to his fellow 2019 first-round pick and horseback riding buddy, Clelin Ferrell, who guffawed at the notion.
“If people would consider that fool a rookie, yeah…” Ferrell said with a laugh. “John’s been doing good. John’s been acting just as John. He looks healthy, he looks fast. Obviously, he’s always been a smart player. He looks confident out there.”
Confidence is something that comes with knowledge. Specifically, learning the defense and knowing where he’s supposed to be on any given play.
Abram had reached that point by the end of OTA’s as a rookie in 2019. That’s when he stepped in with the first team, replacing Erik Harris. And when he was lost in the season opener, it was Harris who stepped in for him. Now he plays alongside him.
The physical part of the game is what Abram missed. And the experience that comes with playing real NFL games. In that regard, he doesn’t feel the same as Ferrell as to where he is in his NFL career.
“Nah, this is definitely my rookie season,” Abram said Wednesday over video conference call. “I did not play anything but one game. So, what we consider in the DB room you have to play a full season and three games after that until you’re not considered a rookie. So, as far as physically, I mean, I’m still considered a rookie. But mentally, I mean, I was never even a rookie. I showed up, I was a part of the 11 guys. A part of the defense out there just trying to do my job to the best ability I can do it.”
This year Abram has another fellow 2019 draftee starting alongside him in Trayvon Mullen, who was the Raiders’ next selection at No. 40 overall in the second round.
Mullen stepped in as the starter midway through last season, so he’s never been in the starting lineup with Abram. And if Abram is like a rookie, Mullen doesn’t see it.
“To me, no he don’t. Maybe he feels that way, but we have really good communication,” said Mullen. “He practices really hard, like a lot of the players we have, he brings guys up and he asks a lot of questions, you can ask him a question and communicate with him. I’m comfortable with him back there. Him and [Erik] Harris and all those guys. With John, he just continues to grow and get better, he’s gotten a lot better and I have a lot of confidence in him.”
So, if you’d like, you can consider Abram like the Raiders having an extra first-round pick this year, because they didn’t have his services last year. But he isn’t your typical rookie. Then again, he never really was.
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