I get the Raiders feeling that they needed to upgrade at cornerback. They have 2019 second round pick Trayvon Mullen in place at one cornerback spot and Lamarcus Joyner just one year into a long term deal, so letting Daryl Worley leave in free agency was the only play at the position. Then they essentially struck out in free agency.
Their top target was Byron Jones and they figured giving him the deal he wanted would nab him. So, they offered to make him the highest paid cornerback in the league. Problem was so too did the Dolphins, only they offered him $40 million in the first two years of his deal and he took it.
From there they moved on to Chris Harris Jr. And Harris denied them in favor of joining what looks to be a stellar Chargers secondary.
After being denied by both their top targets, they signed Eli Apple so as to not be left out entirely. But Apple isn’t a sure thing to start, nor should he be, and so they went after former Lions cornerback Darius Slay in trade. The Lions wanted more than the Raiders were willing to give up and so too did Slay, who instantly jumped ahead of Jones to become the new highest paid cornerback.
Sure, there are still cornerbacks out there. The question you have to ask if you’re the Raiders is if any of them are an upgrade from Worley. That’s where the market has fallen. They tried three times for an upgrade and struck out. And yet after all that, tticking with what they had in Worley is still on option on the table.
Fans always think the grass is greener on the other side. Just add a free agent and the problem is solved. But there’s no sense in signing an outside free agent just for the sake of having a fresh face.
Worley caught a lot of grief this season for the issues with the defense. Probably too much grief, actually. He tied for second on the team with eight pass breakups and his 58 combined tackles was fourth on the team. He’s also just 25 years old.
The list of free agent cornerbacks below 30 still available to have more pass breakups consists of Logan Ryan (18), and… that’s it. And Ryan is a slot cornerback. Although, to be fair, Prince Amukamara (30) had 10 pass breakups.
Worley was one of the more sure tacklers on this defense. He is not one to shy away from contact and he is quite aggressive and competitive in coverage. Despite his aggressiveness, he had just two pass interference penalties last season. And that was it. No holdings and no illegal contact.
His tackling abilities had him as the go-to player to fill in at safety after the rash of injuries the team had at the position.
Free agents to have more combined tackles include Logan Ryan (113), Xavier Rhodes (63), and Ross Cockrell (62).
It was an up and down season for Worley. He had his problems, to be certain. I named him a Buster five times. But he was also named a Baller three times, so it wasn’t all bad.
Every cornerback still on the market has their issues. They wouldn’t still be on the market if they didn’t. None of them would be a clear favorite to start over Eli Apple. They would all compete for that spot across from Trayvon Mullen, just as with Worley. Except Worley knows this defense.
Drafting a cornerback is, of course, also an option. But best case scenario, if you’re the Raiders, is you set yourself up to draft the best player at one of many positions. They already appear as if they will be doing that with wide receiver. If they don’t have adequate talent at cornerback, they would be looking at doing the same at that position. Better to stock up on talent and let them battle it out than to figure they don’t need to because they can take care of it in the draft.
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