Oakland Raiders may have found an old-school star in Johnathan Abram

Oakland Raiders first-round pick Johnathan Abram reported to training camp last Tuesday, and since his arrival, he’s gone full throttle.

When you think of the Oakland Raiders, one thing that comes to mind is grit and hard-nose football. With that said, Raiders rookie Johnathan Abram is exactly the football player that represents the old-school Oakland Raiders. He’s just what Al Davis would want.

But it’s not just Abram who brings that nasty demeanor to the field, as Vontaze Burfict and Richie Incognito also play with a similar edge. Granted, Abram still hasn’t played an NFL game yet, whereas Burfict and Incognito are established veterans, but Abram hasn’t missed a beat throughout camp, playing with the same aggressive nature that he played with at Mississippi State.

In fact, Burfict spoke about Abram’s high energy after training camp practice on Monday. “Jonathan Abram is so aggressive, sometimes I have to tell him, Hey, you’ve got to hold it back a little bit more. We’re on a team.”

Coming from Burfict,one of the most deliberate hitting tacklers in the NFL, says Abram may need to tone it down a bit. At the end of the day, Abram’s high-strung personality and playing ability is something Gruden enjoys, but when it comes to hitting teammates in practice, Abram definitely might want to lighten up the blows.

Despite Abram’s smack talk and jawing throughout practice, he’s backed up his work. During Sunday’s practice, he cut off a pass over the middle recording his first interception of camp.

But on the other hand, he’s also seen a couple of balls slip through his hands during the early stages of camp. He has the intangibles to be a quality leader, and has the skill set to destroy ball carriers busting through the line of scrimmage. But he must work on his coverage skills and make sure to come down with ‘potential interceptions’ when they’re floated in his area of the field.

“He’s gotta start catching his picks, man,” Burfict said. “I told him that he owes me $1,000 for every pick he drops, so right now he has $2,000 in the pot.”

It’s still early to evaluate rookies, but Abram and his rookie class have received high praise across the board from other players and the Raiders coaching staff. Look for Abram to lead the charge on the back-end of the defense throughout his rookie campaign. His game definitely represents the old school mindset, which may help shape himself in Paul Guenther’s defensive system in 2019 and beyond.