The Las Vegas Raiders drafted Jakorian Bennett last season, with hopes that he would develop into a key role player in a secondary bleeding from bad defensive back play the last few years. Their cornerback room really only had two guys worth mentioning to anyone. Nate Hobbs, at nickel, and Jack Jones, who was picked up off of the waiver wire.
Had they not found a hidden gem in Jones, Bennett would have had to be thrown into the fire last season. And, even still, he kind of was. There's this weird narrative around his rookie year that he was bad. No, he was a rookie. He made mistakes, yes, but he learned all season long.
The best part is, he is showing what that rookie year did for him. In his second season, he has been one of the best players on the defense. And, it feels like no one is talking about it. During the Raiders' loss to the Carolina Panthers, the PR team tweeted out something about Bennett during the impressive game.
CB Jakorian Bennett breaks up a pass on third down to force a Carolina punt. Bennett now has four passes defensed on the season, setting a single-season career high. Bennett's four passes defensed are currently tied for the fifth most in the NFL in 2024. CB Jakorian Bennett now has seven career passes defensed in 17 career games. His seven PDs are the sixth most in Raiders history among cornerbacks in their first 17 career games.
In his rookie year, he didn't make many plays. And, that's fine, but fans have a way of calling a player a bust in their first year before even seeing what his potential could be. Of 92 total coverage snaps this season, he has been targeted 13 times and allowed five catches. He did allow one big-time 23-yard reception by Dionte Johnson last week, but that's really all he did badly when you break down the tape.
Just to put that into perspective, Jack Jones, the cornerback one on the team, has played 110 coverage snaps, and been targeted 13 times as well, but has allowed nine catches. Patrick Surtain, the best cornerback in the league who just so happens to play for a big rival in the Denver Broncos, has 109 coverage snaps on the year, has been targeted eight times, and has allowed six catches, according to Pro Football Focus.
He's not elite yet, and he's not a superstar or even a star player. But, he's really coming into his own. The kid is going to be a good football player, and we are starting to see that so far as he is low-key dominating. He's playing very well, and he should be able to carry that over to the Cleveland Browns, just like he did against the Baltimore Ravens two weeks ago.
