The Las Vegas Raiders have had anything but a successful 2024 campaign up to this point. Jakorian Bennett, on the other hand, couldn’t be performing much better.
Week 5 welcomed another disappointing performance from the Raiders as they battled against their division rivals from Denver. Although Sin City headed into the week with an 8-0 record against the Broncos since their move to Las Vegas, Denver was on a hot streak of their own with back-to-back wins. One winning streak had to give, and it was the Silver and Black’s as they lost 18-34 at Mile High.
While the Raiders failed to impress as a collective, second-year cornerback Jakorian Bennett was a standout performer.
Bennett was targeted six times during Week 5’s matchup, the most on the team, while simultaneously allowing the lowest completion percentage, 50%, among all Raiders defenders. The 24-year-old was one-of-two Las Vegas’ defensive backs to break up a pass as well.
In addition, Bennett’s 63.9 quarterback rating when targeted was the lowest on the team at any position.
This performance wasn’t an outlier, either. Although his rookie year was littered with struggles and adjustments, Jakorian Bennett is enjoying a sophomore campaign that can only be described as sensational.
It’s time to give Las Vegas Raiders cornerback Jakorian Bennett his rightful praise
Very few cornerbacks across the NFL have played at the level of Jakorian Bennett this season. In fact, when it comes to ensuring the ball doesn’t get to their assignment, Bennett is one-of-three corners on a tier of their own.
The Maryland alum is responsible for the ninth-lowest completion percentage among all cornerbacks with at least five targets, 42.9%, while having the fifth-most forced incompletions at his position with six. 29% of passes in Bennett’s direction have been forced incompletions; the fifth-highest rate among all corners, minimum five targets.
Denzel Ward and D.J. Reed are the only other cornerbacks league-wide who also rank top-10 in the above-mentioned categories.
Bennett’s ’24 campaign is only made better by his forgettable rookie year. Just one season ago, the former fourth-rounder allowed a completion percentage of 65.6% while surrendering a quarterback rating of 102.3. Through 12 appearances, Bennett managed to force three incompletions – a number he’s already doubled within five weeks.
Or, you can get a feel for just how dominant Bennett has been by comparing him to his beloved teammates, Jack Jones and Nate Hobbs.
While Bennett has allowed a quarterback rating of 57.6, both Jones and Hobbs are on the hook for a QB rating north of 120 when targeted. Furthermore, Neither Jones nor Hobbs are responsible for a completion percentage less than 66.7% while Bennett sits at 42.9%.
You’d have to add Jones’ and Hobbs’ forced incompletions together to get the number Bennett is responsible for, too.
The Raiders were banking on this level of production from Bennett when selecting him in last year’s draft. During his final season at Maryland, the speedy corner with a 4.3 40-time allowed a completion percentage of 44.4%. That’s now happening at the NFL-level.
*Top Photo: Steve Marcus/ Las Vegas Sun
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