One of the big surprises of the 2021 season for the Raiders was the play of Nate Hobbs, a fifth-round selection who became an elite slot cornerback.
When it comes to the Raiders 2021 NFL Draft class, a lot of the talk surrounds the struggles of first-round selection, Alex Leatherwood. Given the starting right tackle job right away, Leatherwood struggled with penalties, and his blocking, forcing the Silver and Black to move him inside to right guard.
However, while Leatherwood struggled, the 2021 class was actually very productive, including second-round pick Tre’Von Moehrig, who the team traded up to get. Moehrig was the only Raiders player to be named to the PFWA All-Rookie team, but he was joined in the secondary by another rookie who also had an instant impact in 2021.
Fifth-round picks are not supposed to have the kind of impact Nate Hobbs did in 2021, but for the Raiders, this is becoming a trend. A few years back, Hunter Renfrow was selected in the fifth round, and he has gone on to be one of the best wide receivers in football.
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Recently, ESPN put together a list of the top-10 rookies from the 2021 season, and while Las Vegas had no rookie named, Hobbs was in the ‘just missed’ section. Jeff Legwold spoke to Hobbs’ impact in the slot for the Raiders, and also wrote that Hobbs needs to start getting more ball production, as in interceptions.
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Cornerback has long been an issue for this franchise, but Hobbs was outstanding in Year 1, setting himself up to be the team’s slot corner for the foreseeable future. Las Vegas hit the jackpot by selecting him in the fifth round, and based on what we saw in 2021, he has the potential to be an All-Pro down the road.