2019 Oakland Raiders position group preview: Cornerbacks

Nick Nelson

There was hope last season, as there usually is with the corners, that Nick Nelson would ease into a role for the Oakland Raiders. However, Nelson suffered an injury early on and just couldn’t find the field. Even when he was healthy he was a healthy scratch for some games. Now it’s hard to imagine Nelson even seeing some snaps on defense in 2019. The talent at cornerback is just too concentrated for him to leap over spots.

Nelson will just be a special teamer this season barring any injuries.

He’s just too much of a work in progress, especially since he did miss time last season. There are still some things he needs to get up to speed on. One of them is significant polishing of his technique. Many times Nelson would rely on his arms and grab receivers.

That’s an indication that he doesn’t trust his feet, which I’m that case will be tough to coach him out of that mentality. Unless he somehow completely stands out among the rest, then his role as a cornerback is diminished.