2023 NFL Draft: Top-3 positions the Las Vegas Raiders must target at No. 7

2023 NFL Draft: Top-3 positions the Las Vegas Raiders must target at No. 7

#3: Cornerback

As per usual, the Raiders had their struggles on the back end of the defense this past season. All though they did/do have some good talent at the cornerback position, their most consistent player Rock Ya-Sin, will be a free agent this year. Second-year man Nate Hobbs had himself somewhat of a sophomore slump, but he was also hindered by injury early in the year, landing on the IR for nearly the first half of the season.

We saw a positive leap from Amik Robertson this year as well, as it seems the Patrick Graham scheme fits him a little better than Gus Bradley’s did last season. Nonetheless, the Raiders found themselves in an all too familiar spot of not having enough depth once injuries arose, having to rely on players like Tyler Hall and Sam Webb.

This year’s cornerback free agent class will have some decent names to keep an eye on, ones that will fall into the veteran category which will be well needed. We saw the benefit last year of bringing in Casey Hayward to mentor the younger guys, while also playing at a high level despite his age.

There is some pretty good talent this year in the NFL Draft on the cornerback side, especially in the first round. But as a position that is deeper than others this year, the Raiders can afford to wait for the 2nd or 3rd round, especially if it seems like they aren’t flying off the board early. Between free agency and some mid to late-round talent, cornerback falls at number three on this list.