Las Vegas Raiders defensive back Lamarcus Joyner spent another season out of position at slot corner and it showed in his play and not in a good way.
The Raiders are still waiting on Lamarcus Joyner
Joyner played a historically bad season for the Las Vegas Raiders in 2020. In 14 games, he allowed 44 completions on 66 targets, 458 passing yards, and a passer rating of 91.6. Keep in mind he wasn’t the only Las Vegas defender that struggled last season. While his stats were bad, they were not necessarily his fault.
Defensive coordinator Paul Guenther had Joyner playing out of position again in 2020. Instead of putting him in at free safety, where he showed great promise for the Las Angeles Rams, Guenther played him at nickel corner. The Raiders had experimented with the position change in 2019 and for some reason, they insisted on continuing it this past season.
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There are reasons for hope moving forward
Joyner did improve notably in one metric. He was only flagged five times in 2020, compared to nine times in 2019. However, the fact his playing time steadily faded away might’ve played a factor. In the first five games of the year, he played 80.9 percent of defensive snaps, by his last five, it was down to 60.4 percent.
Guenther was fired from his position before the season ended and hopefully, that will revive Joyner’s Raiders career. Gus Bradley has taken over the defense and maybe he will return Joyner to his days of glory at safety. While his two years with the Raiders have been shaky, Joyner has the potential to be a significant contributor.
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Heidi is also a host in The Only Nation podcast, make sure you don’t miss her latest episode, where the crew welcomes Peggy Holmes and talk about booster clubs and tailgating.
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