Should we be worried about the Raiders’ cornerbacks?

Let me start by saying that the Las Vegas Raiders cornerback room is a top-12 unit in the league and is supremely underrated by the national media. The secondary as a whole could end up among the best in the NFL this season, but in order for that to happen, these guys need to take care of themselves.

What do I mean by that? After seeing Nate Hobbs leave the field with a foot injury during Tuesday night’s open practice at Allegiant Stadium, I started to worry about the Raiders’ depth at the position. I took a look at the history of games played by each of the corners projected to be on the Raiders' opening day roster, and it was mildly concerning. 

Hobbs missed a game during his rookie season and has missed six and four games in the past two seasons. Jakorian Bennett missed two games last year due to injury, and Jack Jones has missed four and five games in his two NFL seasons.

Brandon Facyson has been in the league for six seasons and only played 75% of the available games. He has played every game in a season just one time, which was all the way back in 2019.

By contrast, both rookie corners currently slotted into the 53-man roster were ironmen in college, with Decamerion Richardson and MJ Devonshire missing a combined one game in their careers. This came while Devonshire was a freshman, so neither of them have missed a game in almost three seasons.

Keep in mind that it is impossible to predict if or when an injury will occur. The magnitude and timing of the injury are also important, so this is something that I hope the staff was aware of when constructing this group.

The team does have a handful of good pieces further down the roster as well, with Sam Webb being a familiar name who has had his moments. He had an impressive interception at open practice on Tuesday and is always hanging around the bubble of the roster. 

Woo Governor also made a name for himself during the preseason and could be a valuable asset if someone were to miss games, for whatever reason. 

Jones will make noise this year as one of the best outside corners in the league, and Hobbs will be considered among the very best in the slot at the year’s end as well. If Bennett makes the necessary strides, this unit will be incredibly dangerous.

For both their personal sake, and the sake of the team, I hope that they can do something they have not done thus far in their NFL careers: stay healthy and play every game. If they do, the league should watch out.