The Raiders were busy on the first few days of free agency, locking up Christian Wilkins and Gardner Minshew. Since then, they’ve mostly retained their own free agents and have only signed one other notable player (Alexander Mattison).
But free agency isn’t over and the Raiders still have a lot of needs on both sides of the ball. One position they’ve yet to address is cornerback, especially now that Amik Robertson has signed with the Lions. But which free-agent cornerback would make the most sense for Las Vegas?
In a recent article by Bill Barnwell of ESPN, he wrote about the top 20 free agents still on the market and the best potential landing spot for each player. For free-agent CB Steven Nelson, the Raiders were the top fit. Here is why Barnwell believes he should be wearing the Silver and Black next season:
The only teams to play zone coverage more than 70% of the time last season were the Raiders and Texans. Vegas hopes it landed a potential difference-maker via waivers after adding Jack Jones from the Patriots last year, but Jones will need to stay on the straight and narrow after falling afoul of Bill Belichick in New England. With Amik Robertson leaving for the Lions, Nelson could compete with Jones and Jakorian Bennett for starting work in 2024.
It’s no secret that the Raiders need more cornerback depth and Nelson can play on the outside and in the slot. The cost to acquire Nelson should be relatively cheap and he does make a lot of sense in Patrick Graham’s defense. Don’t be surprised if the Raiders reach out in the upcoming days as they try to rebuild their defense.
