The Oakland Raiders made a big investment in their secondary for 2016, but the payoff wasn’t quite what they expected.
By adding cornerback Sean Smith and safety Reggie Nelson, the Raiders believed they finally had a shutdown cornerback and a veteran in his prime to replace the retired Charles Woodson. And, with corner David Amerson coming off a terrific 2015 and the addition of top draft choice Karl Joseph at the other safety – with DJ Hayden, TJ Carrie and Nate Allen in the slot or as backups – the secondary looked much better going into this past season than in recent seasons.
Yet after a 12-4 regular-season record and a trip to the playoffs for the first time since 2002, the Raiders still have some fine-tuning to do with the unit.
The Raiders finished 26th in total defense in 2016 while giving up more than 257 yards per game passing, and secondary coach Marcus Robertson reportedly will not be returning.
It may be that under new coaching and with a full season together, this unit will improve without additions in 2017. Joseph – when healthy – was impressive, according to evaluations by Matt Claassen of the analytic website Pro Football Focus. And Nelson, after a slow start, had a strong second half. Smith’s tenure in silver and black began horribly, with a benching in his first game, but he regained his footing to finish as the team’s best-graded player in the secondary.
Amerson, however, slumped significantly. In 2015, the opposing passer rating vs. Amerson was 66.3. In 2016, it was 102.2.
In its season-ending review of NFL secondaries, Pro Football Focus graded the Raiders at just 17th overall.
Raiders
Head coach Jack Del Rio is looking for better things in 2017. He said after the season that the unit gave up too many “explosive plays.” He said the group wasn’t as strong as it could be against deep balls and supporting the run.
With Amerson’s step back, the Raiders will have to bring in insurance. His continued slide would add too much pressure to the group as a whole. Wrote Levi Damien of SB Nation: “Adding a good corner in free agency would go a long way to helping solidify the secondary.”
