One of the biggest surprises of the first round in the 2020 NFL Draft was the Raiders selecting Ohio State cornerback Damon Arnette. Las Vegas picking a cornerback wasn’t a surprise at all, but rather, it was who they selected.
Heading into the draft, it appeared that Utah cornerback Jaylon Johnson was squarely on the team’s radar. According to Johnson himself, he believed he was going to be the Raiders selection at pick No. 19. Instead, the Raiders took the Buckeyes cornerback to pair with Trayvon Mullen.
In a recent article by Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus, he re-drafted some of the “biggest reaches” in the 2020 draft. On that list was Damon Arnette and Monson replaced that pick with Johnson. Take a look at why he believes Johnson would have been a better fit for the Raiders than Arnette:
Johnson ended up slipping all the way to the Chicago Bears at pick No. 50 — likely due to injury concerns — but he was a better player in college, ranked higher on PFF’s Big Board (24), is younger (21) and, in my eyes at least, actually fits better schematically in Las Vegas than Arnette does unless the Raiders are making significant changes in terms of the coverages they ran. Given where Johnson was ultimately drafted, you can make the argument that it would have been seen as just as big of a reach, but I think this pick, had it been Johnson over Arnette, would have been received significantly more favorably.
While Monson does make a strong case as to why Johnson may be a better prospect, the injury history is likely what pushed the Raiders to pick Arnette. Johnson has had three shoulder surgeries since leaving high school and is currently rehabbing from one now. While he didn’t miss any time in college with his injuries, its fair to wonder how much that could impact him in the NFL.
Arnette has his own concerns, but he has been a much more durable player so far in his football career. It will be fascinating to see how these two cornerbacks fare in the NFL and it will be fun to look back in a few years to see if the Raiders made the right decision at pick No. 19.
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