5 Raiders players who will play crucial role in making playoffs
Duron Harmon
An underrated and overlooked signing this offseason was Duron Harmon. Familiar with McDaniels from their time in New England, Harmon was seen as a rotational piece, at least originally. However, as the season progressed and the other safeties struggled in Patrick Graham’s scheme, Harmon proved he was the only one at his position that was getting a hold of this new way of doing things.
In fact, things got so bad that the Raiders outright released Johnathan Abram.
In terms of playing time, Harmon has played 100 percent of the team’s defensive snaps at least five times. Not bad for the 31-year-old veteran. Sunday’s performance was another solid one. PFF awarded him a 70.3 coverage grade, also giving him credit for a pass breakup.
Harmon is far from elite, but much like Jones and the player coming up next, he’s doing his part. Graham’s defense has held up their end of the bargain the last few weeks, and the Raiders are going to be relying on Harmon to hold things down in the backfield. Luckily for Harmon, the team should be getting Nate Hobbs back. That will help the secondary overall, as they’ve sorely missed their standout sophomore.
Harmon hasn’t had an interception since Week 7, so maybe he can dial something up as the team awaits the Chargers this week.