Johnathan Abram hasn’t turned into the playmaker the Las Vegas Raiders expected when they drafted him 27th overall in 2019’s NFL Draft. One legend is willing to help if the third-year safety asks him.
The Raiders Tavern & Grill recently opened to the public and legend Charles Woodson attended the inauguration. He told Cassie Soto of Las Vegas Review-Journal that Abram hasn’t reached out for advice but he would help him if he asked him. Later, he said that it’s his prerogative and he will leave it up to him. He then added that everybody is different but as long as they do what they can to prepare they should be alright.
He hasn’t reached out, that’s his prerogative. If he ever does, I’m here but I leave that to the young guys. This game, sometimes you feel like you have to figure it out by yourself. That’s fine, everybody has to go through their growing pains as a player. The best thing you can do as an athlete is to make sure you prepare when the season comes around. Make sure you know what to do, and do it fast.
In a twist of events, Abram’s agent, Neil ‘Trey’ Robinson showed pictures of his client trying to reach out to Woodson. Maybe the 2009 Defensive Player of the Year doesn’t handle his social media. Maybe he forgot. Nevertheless, the 2019 first-round pick should look for other ways to find Woodson. It’s never too late to get in contact with the soon-to-be enshrined Hall of Famer.
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Raiders need better production from Johnathan Abram in Year 3
Nobody will deny the Mississippi State product has the physical tools to thrive. However, he sometimes seems more interested in laying big hits than playing defense. Last season, #24 was a liability in coverage, giving up 81.8 percent of the passes thrown his way. You could argue this was Abram’s redshirt rookie campaign after missing most of the 2019 season. Also, former defensive coordinator Paul Guenther wasn’t known as a patient and caring teacher, so maybe a change of scheme will benefit him.
Entering Year 3, Abram needs to show significant growth now that Gus Bradley has taken over for Guenther. Also, the Mississippi State can no longer claim he is a newbie. The Raiders should expect a bigger return from their first-round safety and 2021 is a good time to collect. It’s time to show the Silver and Black made the right decision back in 2019.
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Top Photo: Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group
Abrams is 100% make or break this year. He can blame some of last year on bad coaching, perhaps. But some of it was due to being a knucklehead and not seeming to understand where he needed to be or processing things fast enough. Maybe he can stop being a knucklehead, but if he still doesn’t understand schemes or can’t quickly process things, his career will be over quick. And I’m not even sold that he is even fast enough in coverage. He seems to be more of a middle linebacker in a defensive back’s body. And that’s not where the league is at right now. My prediction: he cuts down on the more egregious bad plays, but is never more than mediocre, especially in coverage. I hope I’m wrong, though.
I don’t know why everybody’s ragging on him he’s really a rookie last year he was hurt the whole year before he’s doing fine people are too critical of people