Las Vegas Raiders 7-round 2023 NFL Mock Draft: A perfect scenario?
Las Vegas Raiders 7-round 2023 NFL Mock Draft: A perfect scenario?
824. . Cornerback. Terrapins . Deonte Banks. 70. player
The Raiders continue their rebuild of the defensive backfield by grabbing Deonte banks out of Maryland with the 70th overall pick. The Raiders struggled with turnover at cornerback and the cupboard is quite bare as of today, so a boost is needed at the position.
Banks fills a need and also looks to be a versatile player that can play several positions in the defensive backfield. He is a bigger corner at 6-2 and 205 lbs and could be deployed against some of the bigger wide receivers in the league. We can already see him battling it out with Mike Williams and Keenan Allen for jump balls in the back of the end zone.
The Maryland native has given up a passer rating between just 65 and 70 when targeted over the last three years. He has great ball skills and, just like Joseph, is talented at tracking the ball downfield and making plays on contested catches. His size allows him to bully smaller receivers and help out in the run game as well.
The primary concerns around Banks are a lack of elite recovery speed and susceptibility to double moves. The Raiders can’t do much about the speed, but they can coach him up to be better at recognizing and diagnosing those double moves. The combination he possesses of size and solid speed makes him an intriguing but imperfect prospect but there is a path to him contributing right away just like Brandon Joseph.