Take a look at the numbers by the Raiders defense through two games and you’ll see two names atop the list of tackles. Leading the team is Johnathan Abram with 17 combined tackles (13 solo). Right behind him is rookie cornerback Damon Arnette with 12 combined tackles (10 solo).
Anyone who watched an episode of Hard Knocks last season quickly learned how much of a personality Abram has on and off the field. Between the show and the preseason we learned he will lay the wood on the field.
Rookie cornerback Damon Arnette has taken to Abram’s personality.
“That’s my boy. We’re both loose screws. Loose screws fit in with each other,” Arnette said of Abram. “This is one of the closest secondaries that I’ve been on.”
Since arriving in Las Vegas, Arnette has been known as a fearless defender, both in coverage and as a tackler. He and Abram feed off of each other as well as the rest of the secondary.
Arnette tends to dance around a lot in practice and he and Abram were caught in a dance-off in practice last week.
Here's a @damon_arnette & @JohnathanAbram1 dance off for you from practice.
Since Twitter recently suspended me for using copywritten music in the background of something. I used a royalty free song I had access to. Lol #Raiders pic.twitter.com/CKpYMMrVCn
— Heidi Fang (@HeidiFang) September 19, 2020
“This is the most fun that I’ve had playing football my whole life. I ain’t got to worry about nothing else but football. No extra luggage, no baggage. I can just worry about being competitive for my teammates and coaches.”
Through two games, Arnette has just one pass breakup and is probably most known by fans for getting beaten on a double move that allowed a 75-yard touchdown to Robbie Anderson in the opener. But it’s important not to let that be his defining play. He’s made a lot more plays outside of that. And he’s still a rookie after all.
Arnette’s aggressiveness will be needed this week with the Raiders facing Cam Newton and the Patriots at Foxboro.
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