Earlier this week, we wrote a piece about the team’s defensive line and how their pass-rush ranked 27th in the NFL during the 2020 season. While everyone can agree that the Raiders need to find some better rushers this offseason, it might not be the biggest need on the roster.
Despite investing three top-50 (including two first-round picks) in their secondary over the last two years, the Raiders have arguably the worst defensive backfield in the entire NFL.
In a recent by Pro Football Focus, they ranked the unit at No. 31 after this year. Here is a small snippet of their thoughts on the group:
“(Damon Arnette) finished as the league’s lowest-graded corner on the outside. It’s a small sample (216 coverage snaps), and Arnette still has ample time to improve, but he didn’t help matters. Neither did Trayvon Mullen, who was a boom-or-bust player and didn’t make a significant Year 2 leap. He did tie for seventh in total pass breakups (11) but finished with a sub-60.0 coverage grade. Meanwhile, second-year safety Jonathan Abram was the lowest-graded player at his respective position in coverage.”
With Abram and Arnette finishing at the bottom of their respective positions, it put a ton of stress on players like Mullen and Lamarcus Joyner, as well. Joyner had a nice bounce-back season, but Mullen was far too inconsistent this year.
Despite all of the resources this team has spent on their secondary, it’s still not anywhere near good enough. So expect Mike Mayock and Jon Gruden to go back to the well this offseason to upgrade the lackluster unit.
Leave a Reply