Bit by bit, the Raiders roster and the depth chart is shaking out as camp goes along. Unlike most camps, there was nothing in the offseason that could sway the coaches one way or the other as to who would take the lead on any of their open competitions. Those battles have all been taking place since they began training camp on July 28.
We are approaching a month since that first day, and a couple of weeks since they began what could be considered something resembling actual training camp practices.
Two weeks is not enough time to properly gauge the talent or readiness of the team’s new players. Not having a preseason only exacerbates the issue.
Probably the most up-for-grabs position on the team is cornerback where there are a lot of guys vying for a spot on the roster and for playing time. And according to general manager Mike Mayock, it could be a while before any decisions are made.
“As far as the corners, the thing I like about it most is they’re competing,” Mayock said Tuesday over Zoom conference call. “When I talked about evaluating tape, there’s still a couple corners that I don’t know who they are yet. That’s really the challenge for training camp. We have no preseason games so we can’t see them on special teams live, so I think the challenge, at least for me personally, is to try and figure out some of these young corners in the next ten days.”
Ten days is what the team has until they need to make a decision on who will be on their 53-man roster on September 5. A tough decision is upcoming at the cornerback spot.
As of now, the group consists of Trayvon Mullen, Lamarcus Joyner, Prince Amukamara, Damon Arnette, Nevin Lawson, Amik Robertson, Keisean Nixon, Isaiah Johnson, Madre Harper, Dylan Mabin, with Nick Nelson on the PUP list.
We can assume Mullen, Joyner, and Arnette are locks. Amukamara has been in a battle with Arnette for the starting corner job, so he seems likely. Probably Amik Robertson as a fourth-round rookie gets on. That’s five already. After that, who really knows.
The frontrunners for the final one or two spots figure to be Lawson, Nixon, and Johnson. Last season these three battled for roster spots as well. Johnson suffered and injury so Lawson and Nixon were in. But without the injury, who do they choose? I know I have my predictions, but I’m not solid on them. I’m also not the one making the decisions. Besides, with still a lot of practices left, things could change.
One interesting thing right now is Trayvon Mullen is hurt. Mayock says the team was initially worried about his injury, but that as it turns out Mullen will be “back sooner rather than later.” He is the one sure starters on the team which means in his absence some of the rest of these guys jockeying for position should get more reps with the ones. They certainly need it.
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