The Las Vegas Raiders overturned their secondary this offseason under general manager John Spytek. New head coach Pete Carroll had a specific kind of cornerback that he wanted to build around in particular, and the first-year general manager delivered exactly that to the veteran coach.
Jakorian Bennett, Decamerion Richardson and Darnay Holmes are the holdovers from the previous regime, but none of them have been playing with the first team at OTAs or minicamp. Instead, third-round rookie Darien Porter and four-year veteran Eric Stokes have taken the bulk of the reps.
While this is surely a talented room, none of these players have more than 45 games of NFL experience under their belt. Many have clamored for a veteran like Jalen Ramsey or Jaire Alexander, but a move on that front seems less and less likely as the offseason drags on.
Raiders could take a flyer on former Rams CB Derion Kendrick
Carroll seems dead set on having a young secondary that consists of high-ceiling players who he can coach up. Coincidentally, another such player just became available a day after the Raiders broke minicamp for the summer.
On Friday, the Los Angeles Rams released 24-year-old cornerback Derion Kendrick. He started 18 games during his first two NFL seasons and recorded an interception, 14 passes defended and 92 total tackles.
He missed all of last season due to a torn ACL, but he is on track to be healthy by Week 1. At just 6-feet tall with 31-inch arms, however, he does not fit the prototypical mold for a wide cornerback in Carroll's system.
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His best chance at landing on the Raiders' roster is making a transition to slot corner, where he has very little experience playing. Currently, the team is deploying safeties like Lonnie Johnson Jr. and Thomas Harper in that position, which tells fans how confident they are in what they have.
Kendrick also has an arrest on his resume and was dismissed from the Clemson football program while he was in college. Spytek and Carroll have prioritized adding high-character players this offseason, so it stands to reason that they would not entertain Kendrick entirely because of this.
It is unlikely that the Raiders add Kendrick for a variety of reasons, but it would not be unheard of for the team to take a flyer on someone who is clearly a talented player and may need a second chance.