Do the Raiders have enough outside cornerback depth?

Do the Raiders have enough outside cornerback depth?

Anthony Averett

The second of all outside corners acquired this off-season by the Raiders, Anthony Averett, is a physical corner who solidified himself as a starting-caliber cornerback last season.

Averett was a fourth-round pick back in 2018 by Baltimore. In the 44 contests he’s appeared in over his four-year pro career, the former Ravens’ corner was a starter on 21 occasions. Throughout his career, Averett has mustered up 22 pass breakups, along with 101 tackles.

In ’20, Averett struggled to find momentum. He finished the season with an allowed completion percentage of 75%, with an opposing quarterback rating of 105.6.

Jones and Averett have had similar careers up to this point. Both entered the league in 2018, had a forgettable year in 2020, and had career years the following year during the ’21 season. This past year, Averett allowed 55.4% of passes his way to be completed, with an opposing rating of 77.5. The first-year Raider also grabbed the first-three interceptions of his career, all coming one season ago.

What changed with Averett? For one, he was able to play coverage against elite receivers such as Tyreek Hill: Hill would end that game with 14 yards on three receptions; His second-lowest yardage total since week-11 of the ’19 season.

Raider Nation has its own familiarity with Anthony Averett. In week 1 of last year, Averett intercepted a pass in the end-zone during the overtime period. The Raiders ultimately won this game, starting the year off 1-0.

Both of the two abovementioned matchups came in the first week of the ’21 season, in which Averett had the lowest opposing quarterback rating leaguewide.

Averett is a great depth piece and should see the field often this upcoming season. Let’s move onto the next depth corner on the outside.