3 Raiders starters whose jobs are in jeopardy following NFL Draft

And none of them are Michael Mayer!
Los Angeles Chargers v Las Vegas Raiders
Los Angeles Chargers v Las Vegas Raiders / Ryan Kang/GettyImages
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 4
Next

1. Jakorian Bennett, CB

Bennett feels like the most obvious answer of anyone on the roster. Taken in the 4th round of the 2023 NFL Draft, the Raiders threw Bennett to the fire last season, playing him in 14 games with four starts. It did not go well.

In those 14 games, Bennett was one of the worst cornerbacks in football. According to Pro Football Focus, he finished the year ranked as the 124th best cornerback; only 127 were eligible. He missed almost 18% of his tackles, committed four penalties, and QBs had a passer rating over 100 on throws where he was targeted. Terrible rookie seasons don't always make for terrible careers, but Bennett certainly has his work cut out for him.

There's also the fact that out of the eight picks the Raiders made in this year's draft, three of them were in the secondary. Both cornerbacks – Decamerion Richardson and MJ Devonshire – are considered guys who should, in theory, be able to start right away. At the very least, Bennett's going to have his job challenged in training camp. And if the Raiders decide to go sign a veteran corner, which feels somewhat likely, then there's probably a lot of special teams in Bennett's future.