Las Vegas Raiders 2020 post-draft depth chart: Cornerbacks

Depth Chart

Outside of Mullen, determining who the Silver and Black’s starting cornerbacks will be is almost a pure guess. The group features a mix of aging/underperforming veterans and rookies/unproven players, creating a lot of ambiguity. Nonetheless, I take a stab at figuring out how the depth chart will look come September – or whenever the season will start. I’m assuming the team will keep six corners on the roster since that’s how many they had last year.

1. Mullen – LCB
2. Arnette – RCB
3. Joyner – SCB
4. Amukarama
5. Robertson
6. Johnson

As previously mentioned, Mullen is a lock to start and there isn’t a need to dive into that any further. However, who’s starting on the other side of him is a big question.

I can see Amukamara getting the spot to start the season because of his experience, but he also turns 31-years-old next month and is coming off a down year, allowing a completion percentage of 66.2 and passer rating of 105.2. That’s a deadly combo and speaks to why he was still available this late in the offseason. Thus, I think Arnette can win the job and is more than capable of being a Week One starter.

One of the biggest questions I, and maybe all of Raider Nation has, is what position is Lamarcus Joyner going to play this season?

Back in March, Vic Tafur of The Athletic reported that the organization still views Joyner as a nickel, but earlier this month, defensive backs coach Jim O’Neil said on Silver and Black Today last that the veteran is going to play some safety. In my opinion, this is all dependent upon how Robertson performs in training camp, and I can see the coaching staff being a little cautious about turning the reins over to a fourth-round rookie from a mid-major college right away. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Louisiana Tech product become a starter midway through the season.

There are two notable names left off the list above, Nevin Lawson and Keisean Nixon. Lawson was a decent player last season but for the second year in a row, he’s suspended for the season opener. Maybe the team tries to stash Isaiah Johnson on the practice squad to keep the six-year veteran around, but to me, the risk of letting another team pick up the 2019 fourth-round pick seems a bit high for a player who just okay.

Nixon won over the coaching staff and fanbase with his play in the preseason a year ago. However, he might be the odd man out this time around as all the offseason additions don’t work in his favor. Hopefully, Las Vegas will be able to keep the former Gamecock on the practice squad in case of an emergency.