Healthy Johnathan Abram key to Las Vegas Raiders secondary in 2020
By Brad Weiss
With all the additions to the Las Vegas Raiders secondary this offseason, it is a returning player who is key if they hope to improve in 2020.
During the then-Oakland Raiders run on HBO Hard Knocks, one player that stood out above all, outside of Antonio Brown, was rookie safety Johnathan Abram. From his hilarious demeanor, to his hard-hitting play on the field, Abram displayed the kind of passion that instantly made him a fan favorite.
Abram made his presence felt in Week 1, as he was flying all over the field in the Raiders secondary, helping the team to a monster home win in primetime. Unfortunately, that would be the last game he would play last season, as he blew up his shoulder in the win, and was placed on injured reserve.
Heading into the 2020 campaign, all eyes will be on Abram leading this secondary, as the team continues to build around him, and fellow 2019 draft pick, cornerback Trayvon Mullen. Mullen stepped up in a big way towards the end of last season, proving to be a legitimate CB1, and now Abram must show he is healthy enough to assume a leadership role at safety.
This offseason, the Raiders did a nice job bringing in talent to compliment both Abram and Mullen, and based on the slate of games, and the quarterbacks they face, the secondary is going to be tested on a weekly basis. For Abram, his pseudo-rookie season is key for the franchise in 2020.