Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden doubled down on his praise of first round pick Damon Arnette and compared him to a former Pro Bowler
The Las Vegas Raiders used the 19th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft on Ohio State cornerback Damon Arnette in a move that left some fans scratching their heads. Arnette was not one of the five CB prospect names that most fans had memorized, and many draft pundits did not have him in their top 10 at the position.
The selection sparked a debate as to Arnette’s qualifications to be the 19th overall pick and many fans believed the Raiders reached once again for a defensive player in the first round. Raiders head coach Jon Gruden was bullish about the selection after the draft and even claimed Arnette was as good as his college teammate Jeff Okudah who went third overall to the Detroit Lions.
Gruden told SiriusXM, as quoted by NBC Sports:
"“I liked Arnette as much as Okudah. If you look at the production, Arnette’s got more production. He played last year hurt with a broken right wrist. I think he is the best tackler in this draft. I think he is an old-school bump-and-run Raiders cornerback that’s physical and nasty.”"
When comparing Arnette and Okudah’s statistics, Gruden is correct that Arnette does indeed have more production. If we are just comparing their last three seasons, as Arnette played four to Okudah’s three, Arnette has 119 tackles and 4 interceptions compared to Okudah’s 83 tackles and 3 interceptions. Arnette adds 4 tackles for loss and 22 passes defended with Okudah recording 1 tackle for loss and 18 passes defended.
Of course tackles and interceptions are not the only marks of a great CB as the best are not usually tested by opposing QBs because of their blanket coverage. A great example of this is Nnamdi Asomugha’s two First-Team All Pro seasons with the Raiders wherein he had only one interception and 15 passes defended total. His tackle numbers are paltry at best and further suggest that the truly dominant corners don’t always rack up the statistics.
Arnette does have the makeup of a tough and physical corner and his highlights suggest he is a willing and capable tackler. There are reports that his combine performance was hampered by injury and that his 4.56 time would have been much improved had the Ohio State pro day not been cancelled.
Gruden also went on to compare Arnette to one of his former players, Aqib Talib
"“I am not going to guarantee this, but he reminds me a lot of Aqib Talib, a guy that we drafted in Tampa several years ago. He is a guy that has great confidence in himself. He comes from the big arena at Ohio State, and the bigger the game the better he played.”"
This is high praise from Gruden to compare Arnette to one of the premier cornerbacks in the league over the last decade or so. Talib is a Super Bowl champ, five-time Pro Bowler, and two-time All Pro so if Arnette achieves half of that then the pick would have been worth it and more of a steal than a reach.
As we all know evaluating college players is an inexact science and as the Raiders will tell you, it is especially difficult to evaluate defensive backs. Regardless of what the pundits have said about Arnette, he will have every chance to compete for the starting CB position opposite Trayvon Mullen and will have the full backing of his coach and GM. Hopefully he will have the full backing of Raider Nation as well.