Adding a cornerback may not appear to be important for Las Vegas Raiders fans this offseason. However, given how poor their pass defense performed last season, adding William Jackson III might be prudent.
As far as cornerbacks, Trayvon Mullen continued to show last season why he’s one of the few bright spots on the Raiders’ defense. Though there are concerns such as him giving up more receptions than in 2019, going from 41 to 54. His Pro Football Focus run defense grade also dipped last year from 77.9 in 2019 to 37.3 this past season. It’s obvious opposing quarterbacks aren’t afraid to sling it against Las Vegas, giving up 28 touchdowns via the air. The team needs to rebuild their defensive line’s interior but adding Jackson could do wonders in defensive coordinator Gus Bradley’s unit.
PFF recently named Jackson a perfect free-agent match for the Silver and Black this offseason. At age 28, Jackson is still in his physical prime and it’s plausible he’d be the starting corner opposite of Mullen. This would give the Raiders a solid trio of corners with Damon Arnette still developing after a rough rookie campaign.
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What could Jackson do for the Raiders?
While Jackson was not the most dominant cover corner with the Cincinnati Bengals, PFF pointed out his 71.4 overall grade ranked 26th out of the 136 qualifying cornerbacks. Even though it may be more indicative of how poor the defense was overall, he performed individually better than most of the Raiders’ defenders.
Jackson’s lone interception in 2020 is deceiving as he was targeted 74 times but only surrendered 38 completions. A 51.4 completion percentage was solid and would surely be an upgrade over anything the Raiders currently have.
What are your thoughts, Raider Nation? Should the Raiders invest in a starting cornerback given last year’s struggles?
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