There aren’t many areas in the Las Vegas Raiders defense that are worth highlighting. Their defensive line is struggling to hold their ground at the line of scrimmage. Meanwhile, their back seven is allowing opposing quarterbacks to march down the field without much opposition. However, second-year cornerback Trayvon Mullen has been a bright spot in an otherwise subpar defense.
That 2019 second-pick the Raiders spend on Mullen was worth it
The Raiders started to heavily devote resources to their defense in 2019, general manager Mike Mayock’s first year with the team. In 2019’s draft, they selected defensive end Clelin Ferrell, cornerback Isaiah Johnson, defensive end Maxx Crosby and the aforementioned Mullen. Crosby had a solid first year and Ferrell showed glimpses of playmaking ability while Johnson and Abram missed most of the year with injuries.
Although Mullen didn’t have a big role at the start of 2019, his workload would increase as the season progressed. He made his first start of the year in Week 8 and kept one of the team’s starting corner jobs for the rest of the season. All in all, he finished the year with 40 total tackles, 10 passes defensed, and one interception.
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Trayvon Mullen continues to improve in Year 2
This season, Mullen took another step in his development and has been an asset at the cornerback position. Austin Gayle of Pro Football Focus recently came up with a very interesting observation. He says that Mullen ranks fourth in yards allowed per coverage snap at 0.66. He added that the Raiders cornerback has three passes defensed in 2020.
Raiders' Trayvon Mullen has taken a massive step forward this year, especially when given the opportunity to work from press.
Mullen ranks 4th in yards allowed per coverage snap (0.66) and has three PBUs in press through Week 4.
— Austin Gayle (@PFF_AustinGayle) October 6, 2020
There is plenty of football left in the season, but Mullen is trending in the right direction. His performance is frequently overshadowed by the lack of execution from other Raiders players. Nevertheless, the Clemson standout knows there is not much he can do but to continue bringing a great mindset to work every day, making sure he knows what to do.
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