Facing star wideouts in practice will improve Raiders defensive backs
With the Raiders having a much improved wide receiver core, it’s not only going to improve their offense, but it will vastly upgrade the defensive secondary.
The Raiders pass catchers on the current roster, look to be night and day, better than they were last season. With the offense led by four-time all-pro receiver Antonio Brown and former Charger deep threat Tyrell Williams, they project as a much improved offensive unit.
But not just the offense will benefit from the new weapons on the outside. The Raiders secondary will face better competition in practice, then they did last season. By doing so, it may help translate into better play on Sundays from the cornerbacks and safeties.
The secondary returned Gareon Conely, Daryl Worley, and Nick Nelson who all played a significant role in Paul Guenthers defense last season. However, they still needed some additional cornerbacks on the roster. With today’s NFL being such a passing league, teams play in the nickel defense more often than not. They added veteran Lamarcus Joyner and Nevin Lawson through free-agency, as well as, drafting Trayvon Mullen and Isaiah Johnson.
At safety not only did Karl Joseph and Erik Harris return, but they selected Jonathan Abram in the first-round of the draft, and signed Curtis Riley via free-agency.
Collectively the Raiders finished the 2018 season allowing 241 passing-yards per game, which ranked 19th in the NFL. After adding six new players to the secondary with veteran leadership and highly touted rookies, the group is expected to take a large leap forward in 2019.
Having the young defensive backs go one-on-one against Antonio Brown is only going to be beneficial for them in the long run. Brown is a clear-cut top wide receiver in the league, and working against the best will help the rookie defensive backs adapt to tendencies that wide receivers do across the NFL.
Whereas facing Tyrell Williams will be different aspect than facing Brown. Williams will be a good test for the secondary, playing against a big-body receiver and someone who can run like a deer. Between the two pass catchers, the defense will get good experience facing top-notch wideouts, which may lead to better results on gamedays.