Oakland Raiders 2019 53-man roster: The Cornerbacks
Starters
Gareon Conley
The starters at cornerback for the Oakland Raiders will of course be Gareon Conley and Daryl Worley. Both of these players can catapult themselves this season into a strong pair, especially for Conley. 2019 isn’t just a big year for Derek Carr, it’s a big year for Conley as well.
The second half of last season Conley came on strong and established himself as a capable starting corner. This season will be his chance to establish himself as one of the top corners in the game.
I feel comfortable in saying that Conley can reach elite levels because he has the skill-set. What is underrated about him that misses our heads is that he doesn’t get caught in awkward positions that fans are used to seeing from a Raider cornerback. He doesn’t even get flagged for pass interference or holding. It’s almost like a dream that this is happening.
Daryl Worley
Kind of like how it would be a dream if Darly Worley catapults this season with Conley. Having one elite corner isn’t enough in this day in age of the NFL. Defenses ideally need three corners that can cover well. They don’t even need to be elite.
Lamarcus Joyner has the slot locked down, so Worley is essentially the x-factor in this.
Like Conley, Worley started to hit his stride towards the end of the season. Now it’s about being able to keep that momentum up for 2019. The cornerbacks this season needed to be capable because they are going to be in coverage for a long time. A pass rush will still be lacking for the Raiders this season, so these corners are going to have their work cut out for them.
Lamarcus Joyner
Joyner is by far the most valuable player on the Oakland Raiders defense. Slot corner nowadays is more crucial than the outside because a receiver has so many options of attack from the slot. His versatile talent is a great commodity because he can be placed wherever the team needs him in the secondary.
Joyner will primarily be the slot corner for the Raiders, which was lost upon him last season with the Los Angeles Rams.
He wasn’t used in the slot heavily as he should, which led to his down year. I don’t expect Joyner to play all of his snaps as nickel corner because it would be under-utilizing his talents. Putting him at safety here and there will give different looks for an offense. It would at least behoove the Raiders to do so to confuse the opposition. Joyner isn’t strictly a cornerback, which is why I do not consider him a standout corner as opposed to being an overall standout defensive piece.