Hard hitting safety Johnathan Abram from Mississippi State is already making waves on social media, but what has Raider Nation excited is his “hard-hitting” potential.
On Instagram, Abram recently shared a story that went viral as he snuck up on Oakland’s head coach Jon Gruden hitting the weight room while exclaiming “that’s my coach right there.” It’s obvious that Abram’s excitement is palpable and it is certainly refreshing to see a rookie bring in some energy. A bit of a side note, but Abram has been given #24 so he’ll have some rather big shoes to fill.
Raiders Rookie S Johnathan Abram Could Be Next Heavy Hitter
As we all know however, excitement and enthusiasm has to be backed up by play on the field so when PFF’s recently stated on Twitter that “Abram’s is one of the best pure hitters,” it goes to show that the Raiders might have picked up someone special.
“One of the best pure hitters†in the 2019 NFL Draft per @PFF_Steve is new #Raiders safety Johnathan Abram 🔽https://t.co/MXOYCEj02G pic.twitter.com/e0p28kynBH
— PFF Las Vegas Raiders (@PFF_Raiders) May 7, 2019
The rookie’s improvement in the run defense department alone is eye-popping when you see his trend: 43.1 in 2015, 65.1 in 2017, and 80.4 last year in 2018 respectively.
The question now becomes how the Raiders’ backfield will look like with fourth-year player Karl Joseph and Abram patrolling it. If there’s one thing that Raider Nation can certainly expect is plenty of nasty hits. Perhaps a bit premature to annoint this duo as the next “Atkinson-Tatum,” but it certainly is a possibility. Many fans will recall that last year, Abram knocked out his own teammate in their Spring Game; talk about intensity and impact, quite literally.
Suffice to say Raider Nation eagerly awaits what the new secondary will look like this season.
Ramble On, Raider Nation.