The Las Vegas Raiders' new regime has drawn plenty of praise since taking over for the franchise in January. They didn't get every move right this offseason, but they made a handful of upgrades at major positions of need for a team that won just four games a year ago.
Perhaps the biggest miscue that general manager John Spytek and head coach Pete Carroll made was not properly addressing the cornerback position. Many felt that once the preseason started, the team should be looking to sign or trade for an established veteran to add to the room.
However, the team defied conventional wisdom and traded away Jakorian Bennett to the Philadelphia Eagles, whom most of Raider Nation felt was the team's best cornerback. In exchange, they got defensive tackle Thomas Booker IV, who was tasked with filling the void left by Christian Wilkins.
Raiders may have won Thomas Booker-Jakorian Bennett trade after one week
After Bennett put together a strong preseason in Philadelphia and Booker got off to a slow start, the fan base heated up their criticisms of Spytek and Carroll for making this move. On Thursday Night Football, however, Bennett looked pedestrian for the Eagles, which opened a window for Booker.
In Week 1, not only did the Raiders' cornerbacks hold up just fine against the New England Patriots' offense, but Booker was more than a solid contibutor on the defensive line alongside Adam Butler, Maxx Crosby and Malcolm Koonce in the starting lineup.
Whereas Bennett played just seven snaps against the Dallas Cowboys and gave up three receptions while also being flagged for pass interference, Booker was a net positive for Las Vegas. He recorded three tackles, a pass defended and a quarterback hit against New England.
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Booker also had five total pressures on quarterback Drake Maye, and he played 42 snaps for the Raiders' defense. In just a few short weeks, it looks like Las Vegas landed an impactful starter for what would have been merely a depth piece for either team.
Obviously, one game is a small sample size, but there is no reason to think that Booker's momentum will slow down. Bennett, by contrast, only checked into the game last week because the Eagles' starting cornerback was injured. Otherwise, he might have only played special teams.
Nobody in Raider Nation is cheering against Bennett, until he plays Las Vegas in Week 15. But both the team and fan base would like to win a trade, for once. If Booker can keep ascending like he has since joining the Raiders, then Las Vegas can all but definitely notch this one in the victory column.