Oakland Raiders: 5 best defensive players heading into the bye

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OAKLAND, CA – OCTOBER 15: Reggie Nelson No. 27, Dexter McDonald No. 23 and TJ Carrie No. 38 of the Oakland Raiders react after a play against the Los Angeles Chargers during their NFL game at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on October 15, 2017 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Don Feria/Getty Images) /

Cornerback. Ohio Bobcats. T.J. Carrie. 3. player. 28.

Though the Raiders’ secondary is much maligned this season by the national and local medias, two players have actually graded out very well in the eyes of Pro Football Focus. The first guy we will touch on is slot cornerback T.J. Carrie.

Pro Football Focus has Carrie with an impressive 82.7 overall grade. This is a contract year for the guy and he’s playing well enough to get a major bump in pay. Whether that’s from the Raiders or coming from somebody else remains to be seen.

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His best attribute to season has been tight man coverage in the slot. Carrie has an 82.0 coverage grade this season, which is way better than any other Oakland secondary player who gets a ton of run in this defense. His 61.5 run defense grade is so-so, but his pass rushing grade of 68.1 is surprisingly decent for a slot cover cornerback.

On the year, Carrie has 50 combined tackles, four passes defended and a fumble recovery. Though no Raider has an interception on the year, it wouldn’t be surprising if he is the guy that comes up with the much-anticipated first Oakland pick of the year. Overall, Carrie is carving out a fine, albeit limited role in this defense, but is doing a great job at it all things considered.

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