2018 Oakland Raiders Training Camp: Five burning questions on defense
By Brad Weiss
Who will be the nickel corner in 2018?
Ah, the cornerback position. One that has plagued this franchise for quite some time. Last season, starters David Amerson and Sean Smith seriously underachieved, and heading into 2018, one is with the Kansas City Chiefs (Amerson), and the other is in jail (Smith).
In 2017, the Raiders made Gareon Conley their first round pick, and after struggling to stay healthy as a rookie, he is back to 100 percent for year two. The Raiders brought in Rashaan Melvin to be his starting mate on the other side in 2018, giving the team two very good cornerbacks heading into the season.
Where the unit gets dicey is at the nickel corner, which is the No. 3 cornerback on the roster. Oakland has a bunch of names in the mix for this coveted position, but Leon Hall, Shareece Wright, Daryl Worley, and Nick Nelson are the top four vying for the job entering training camp at the end of July.
Nelson is a 2018 draft pick, and he is still working back from an injury. Wright and Worley have started in the NFL before, but the position may be Hall’s to lose. While 33-years old, Hall has worked with Guenther before, and in year one of his tenure with the Raiders, Guenther may want to go with the experience Hall has playing in his system.