The Las Vegas Raiders have had subpar defenses for a while. That’s as clear as saying water is wet, and there’s no counterargument to either statement. Raiders brass is well aware of both and has been heavily investing resources in the unit the last couple years. With so much turnaround in the defense, general manager Mike Mayock is confused and excited at the same time.
The Las Vegas Raiders have been really trying to change things up
The process of fixing the Raiders secondary started last year. The team selected Trayvon Mullen, Johnathan Abram and Isaiah Johnson in the 2019 NFL Draft and signed Keisean Nixon later as a free agent coming out of South Carolina. Although Abram and Johnson weren’t fully healthy last season, they’ll be vying for snaps this season.
This year, Mayock and head coach Jon Gruden continued the Raiders defensive makeover. They selected cornerback Damon Arnette and Amik Robertson this past draft. Also, they signed free agent safeties Jeff Heath and Damarious Randall. With all the additions the Silver and Black have made, their secondary will have a very different look in 2020.
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Mike Mayock hasn’t met many of the newcomers
In a recent conversation with Vic Tafur of the Athletic, Mayock raved about the defensive players the Raiders have acquired. During their talk, the general manager confides he hasn’t met many of them face-to-face due to the current pandemic. Nevertheless, he’s excited about the competition the newcomers will bring to Las Vegas’ secondary.
I am most anxious to see the secondary. … We’ve got some good young talent and I am anxious to see who competes. It’s awesome to have (Prince) Amukamara because he brings a veteran presence, but we have a bunch of really young corners and safeties that we think have some talent.
In particular, Mayock is looking forward to seeing Randall, whom he had rated as the best safety coming out of college in 2015.
I had him as the No. 1 free safety coming out of college and I think he has movement skills and he’s been a corner and a safety, so you gotta like the fact that he can run.
Mayock made sure to point out he’s high on incumbent Erik Harris. The general manager “thought he had a very solid year last year.”
Of course, the newcomers still need to take the football field. However, Raiders brass should be ecstatic about the changes their defense is currently undergoing.
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