Once again, the Raiders crushed the second and third day of the NFL Draft as they found several players who could make an immediate impact as rookies. One such player is cornerback Amik Robertson, who the team drafted late in the fourth round.
According to Pro Football Focus, he was one of the biggest steals in the draft after being the highest-graded cornerback in the 2018 and 2019 season in college football. Take a look at why the site is sold on Robertson being a dynamic player in the NFL:
If we had to pick who the biggest “Gruden Grinder” was in this class, Amik Robertson would certainly be up there. 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 likely won’t be asked to play much right away as the team already has an undersized slot defender in Lamarcus Joyner. But it is worth noting that Joyner has no guaranteed money left on his contract after the 2020 season, which could mean that Robertson could take his job in the 2021 season.
However, don’t be surprised if Robertson takes that job sooner rather than later as Joyner struggled in the slot last season. On top of that, Robertson is younger, more dynamic and has always defied the odds. Given just how productive he was in college, Robertson could even steal the job during training camp.
The Raiders’ rookie class appears to be loaded once again and that is due to the hard work of Mike Mayock, Jon Gruden and the rest of the scouting staff. Look for this class to play early and often in 2020.
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