The Raiders are expecting big things from Nate Hobbs going into Year 4. With the addition of Jack Jones, the Raiders are expected to allow Hobbs to play mostly in the slot, which is where he excelled as a rookie.
While his play wasn’t bad last year, he has yet to have a season as good as he did as a rookie. Can he get back to that level with a return to the slot?
In a recent article by Pro Football Focus, they named a potential bounce-back candidate for all 32 teams heading into the 2024 season. For the Raiders, that player was none other than Hobbs. Here is what the site had to say about the young cornerback for Las Vegas:
Hobbs was phenomenal in 2021, with an 80.1 overall grade and a 78.0 coverage mark after allowing under 400 yards all season. But he didn’t match that level of play the past two years, never exceeding a 69.0 overall grade in 2022 or 2023. A big reason why could be that Hobbs played on the outside much more in that span than his first year.
Las Vegas has big questions in its secondary, but a full season of Jack Jones — who was a ballhawk late last year — could enable Hobbs to stay more in the slot, where he excelled before.
If Hobbs can get back to the level that we saw him play in 2021, the Raiders have a chance to have one of the best defenses in the league. Hobbs is a dynamic slot cornerback, but he just hasn’t been able to play much there over the last few years. Look for him to have a big season in the final year of his rookie contract: