Raiders second-year defensive player is already turning heads at training camp

The Raiders' starting quarterback debate will dominate almost all of training camp, which isn't entirely surprising – the team will go as far as either Gardner Minshew or Aidan O'Connell take them (sigh), so it stands to reason that their performances would domainte the headlines.

But through the first couple days of "actual," pads-on football, neither QB has finished as the day's top story. So far, that distinction belongs to second-year cornerback Jakorian Bennett.

Jakorian Bennett may be the most improved player on Raiders this year

Bennett – who had a rough rookie season last year – has consistently been impressive through the early stages of training camp, according to reporters and media members in attendance. After finishing 2023 as the third-worst cornerback in football by Pro Football Focus (124 out of 127), Bennett's made the most of his reps so far, most of which are coming with the first team defense. Here's what The Athletic's Raiders reporter Vic Tafur had to say about him:

Cornerback Brandon Facyson missed practice Monday due to an undisclosed reason. With him out, Jakorian Bennett handled all of the starting snaps at outside cornerback. After losing his starting job last season due to injury and poor performance, the second-year player has had a strong training camp and looks to be on his way to reclaiming it.

Sports Illustrated's Raiders Insider Hondo Carpenter had similar things to say, mentioning on his podcast that Bennett "has probably has had the best camp of any Raider, every single day ..."

Drafted in the 4th round of last year's draft, the Raiders expected Bennett to contribute right away. Like Tafur mentions, injuries and poor performances lost him his starting job during the middle of the season, and he didn't start another game after Week 4.

Getting Bennett back as a starting-caliber player would be, in theory, the last missing piece of a Raiders' secondary that looks, on paper at least, like a really solid group; Jack Jones, Nate Hobbs, and Tre'von Moehrig all finished within the Top 50 at their respective position according to PFF. And while the second day of padded practice is way too early for drawing any real conclusions, not having to worry about the CB2 spot for another six weeks would probably do the Raiders a whole lot of good.