2019 Oakland Raiders position group preview: Cornerbacks

Gareon Conley

It has been nearly a century since the Oakland Raiders had a legitimate threat at cornerback. From the moment Nnamdi Asomugha left the Raiders the silver and black has enormously whiffed at finding his replacement. Raider nation has had to suffer with the likes of Stanford Routt, Tracy Porter and Sean Smith. However, Gareon Conley just may be Asomugha’s replacement with the way he finished the 2018 season.

Conley bounced back from the doghouse he was stuck in for the first half of the season to be one of the rising stars in the league. His stellar performance was to be expected considering the traits he possesses. There’s no doubt that Gareon Conley is one of the most overlooked corners in the game. From his clean back pedal that allows him to mirror receivers to his intellect that allows him to play disciplined zone.

2018 overall was a great year for Conley, the only question is can he ride this momentum into 2019? His skill set sure does indicate so and it should only get better now that the defense has added some adequate pieces. Everything on the defensive side of the ball has some uniformity to it. There’s an increase in talent and the majority of the players will be more cemented into Paul Guenther’s scheme with Conley as a cornerstone piece.

The only knock on him is that he can’t tackle to save his life, which is an overrated skill for a cornerback. So long as his play in coverage improves and remains consistent, then it doesn’t really matter if he can tackle well or not. Garoen Conley is going to be a main point of interest for this defense. If he can elevate to elite status, then the Raiders defense can start to dictate match ups.