Oakland Raiders: 5 players to watch vs. Denver Broncos

LANDOVER, MD - SEPTEMBER 24: Tight end Jared Cook No. 87 of the Oakland Raiders scores a touchdown over strong safety Deshazor Everett No. 22 of the Washington Redskins in the third quarter at FedExField on September 24, 2017 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD - SEPTEMBER 24: Tight end Jared Cook No. 87 of the Oakland Raiders scores a touchdown over strong safety Deshazor Everett No. 22 of the Washington Redskins in the third quarter at FedExField on September 24, 2017 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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28. . Cornerback. Ohio State Buckeyes. Gareon Conley. 4. player

Though he may be a young pup as a rookie, this could be the game where No. 24 overall pick Gareon Conley has his breakout performance. Conley played at a college football blue-blood at Ohio State. It’s not like he hasn’t played in a big time rivalry game in a must-win before.

Knowing that the Broncos are elite at cornerback with Harris and Aqib Talib, this might be a game where Conley really pushes it to try to elevate his own performance. Add in that the Broncos don’t have a star quarterback in Trevor Siemian and he might have an interception to help swing the game in Oakland’s favor.

The Broncos have some good, but not great receivers in Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders. Both can score points, but Oakland’s duo of Cooper and Crabtree is superior at this point of the season. Maybe the Denver offense gets a little cute in thinking it can take advantage of a disorganized Raiders secondary?

Expect defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. to have his defense play with more poise against the Broncos than it did against the Redskins. While the Raiders may have honestly overlooked Washington, there is no way Oakland won’t bring its best brand of football to Denver this weekend.