The Raiders have several starting spots on their roster that are up for grabs. Those spots include wide receiver, center, defensive tackle and linebacker. But one of the more intriguing battles will be at the slot cornerback position as three players are competing for snaps.
One of the reasons this is such an important spot for the Raiders is that in Gus Bradley’s defense, they will play a high percentage of their snaps with five defensive backs on the field. So whoever wins this job will essentially be a starter. And with Lamarcus Joyner gone, they will have a new starter at the spot for the first time since the start of the 2019 season.
In a recent piece by ESPN’s 32 beat writers, they broke down each team’s most important positional battle. For the Raiders, it was none other than the slot cornerback slot. Here is what Paul Gutierrez had to say about that position and the three defenders competing for snaps:
“Nevin Lawson has been getting the majority of first-team reps as the fifth DB, (but) he will serve a two-game suspension to start the season. However, fifth-round draft pick Nate Hobbs has been impressive throughout the offseason program, as well as the first two weeks of camp, setting up an interesting showdown. Do the Raiders continue to run Lawson out there, even if he will be ineligible to start the season, or does the rookie Hobbs get more time? And that’s not mentioning second-year corner Amik Robertson, who also has flashed at times in the slot.”
Robertson has the highest draft capital as the Raiders spent a fourth-round pick on him a year ago. But it does feel like this is Lawson’s job to lose. The hope is, though, that one of Hobbs or Robertson can eventually win the spot and hold it down for the next several years.
The preseason should help decide who gets the first crack at the job in Week 1 and Week 2, but it does appear Hobbs is the most likely candidate to earn those snaps after the first few weeks of training camp.
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