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Oakland Raiders: 5 players who were a pleasant surprise in 2018

By Brad Weiss

OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 30: Gareon Conley #21 of the Oakland Raiders intercepts a pass intended for Antonio Callaway #11 of the Cleveland Browns and runs in back for a touchown at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on September 30, 2018 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 30: Gareon Conley #21 of the Oakland Raiders intercepts a pass intended for Antonio Callaway #11 of the Cleveland Browns and runs in back for a touchown at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on September 30, 2018 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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GLENDALE, AZ – NOVEMBER 18: Gareon Conley #21 of the Oakland Raiders celebrates an interception in the first half of the NFL game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium on November 18, 2018 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, AZ – NOVEMBER 18: Gareon Conley #21 of the Oakland Raiders celebrates an interception in the first half of the NFL game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium on November 18, 2018 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images) /

Gareon Conley

The Raiders made Gareon Conley their first round pick back in the 2017 NFL Draft, selecting the athletic cornerback out of Ohio State. Conley was supposed to be one of the better cornerbacks in the draft class, and was slated to go pretty high, but fell to the Raiders due to an off-the-field issue that came about before the draft.

During his rookie season, Conley struggled to get healthy, and missed most of the season due to injury. This summer, he came into the offseason ready to go, but once again got nicked up, and had to miss time during the workouts. That led to him spending some time in Jon Gruden’s doghouse, and becoming the subject of trade talk during the trade deadline.

However, Conley turned his season, and possibly career with the Silver and Black, around in the second half of the year, becoming one of the better cornerbacks in the division. He is officially a CB1, and for a Raiders franchise that has not had one of those in a long time, that is a welcome sight as they head into the 2019 offseason.

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