Even when the initial 53-man roster is complete, the Raiders are likely not going to be done. In particular there are three position groups Antonio Pierce will be keeping an eye on once the over 1100 players from other NFL teams hit the waiver wire.
Those areas are the offensive line, defensive line, and cornerback.
“I’d like us to improve the line of scrimmage, both on the offensive line and defensive line,” Pierce said Saturday. “Talk about winning that and being physical and dominating up front.”
“When the game comes down to like it did last night and teams want to run the ball and you want to stop the run whether the situation is the four-minute, or taking the ball down into the red zone and you want to finish it off, you want to finish those drives the right way. And those are things we want to improve upon and I know [GM] Tom [Telesco] sees it the same way.”
Pierce was especially frustrated with the inability of the Raiders defensive line to stop the 49ers run game. Time after time, the 49ers offensive line was bullying the Raiders interior line. Even well after the 49ers took their first team offense off the field.
The only interior defensive linemen on this team whose spot is safe is Christian Wilkins, John Jenkins, and Adam Butler. Everyone else is going to have a nervous next few days, some even after the cutdown happens as the Raiders seek potential upgrades to their depth.
The cornerbacks have depth issues as well. After starters Nate Hobbs, Jack Jones, and Jakorian Bennett, the next players are rookies and fringe roster players. None of whom have proven they are ready to step into a starting role if called upon.
“It goes back to the depth at corner. Constantly improving that room,” Pierce continued. “Between wide receivers and DBs you constantly lose those guys throughout the season. And you want to add depth, you want to feel good about that.”
Brandon Facyson was originally in a competition with Bennett to start at outside corner. But that competition ended the moment Facyson went out with injury. Making this the second consecutive season Facyson was injured in camp. Last year he ended up missing basically the entire season. And with him not yet healthy, the team has to prepare for life without him.
“We got to get Brandon on the field,” Pierce said of Facyson. “I can’t even evaluate him because we haven’t had him out there. It’s just tough. It’s put a lot of these younger corners out ahead. And it’s good for them in preseason and in training camp to get reps, but I’m not a believer in throwing young corners out there early if they’re not quite ready. So, it would be good to get Brandon back in the fold and healthy.”
Until that happens, the Raiders must be vigilant in trying to add someone who they feel at least somewhat confident can be the next man up at cornerback. So, look for them to snag someone this week.