Raiders sign CB Casey Hayward

[BayRaider]

Preferred Sherman but this is an excellent signing for us. He's absolutely starting for us and is a great fit in Bradley's system. I'm assuming Arnette would play Nickel Back now. 

Might be able to stop the pass for the first time since 2011. By "stop the pass", I mean at least a Middle of the Road Pass Defense. 

[big_palooka]

Can't hate this move. Has made since for months. Scheme fit. Has something left in the tank. Vet leadership. 

Lot's of DBs on the roster. Not all of them will make it out of camp.

[MrOaktown_56]

1 minute ago, big_palooka said:

Can't hate this move. Has made since for months. Scheme fit. Has something left in the tank. Vet leadership. 

Lot's of DBs on the roster. Not all of them will make it out of camp.

I fully expect some of these guys to be gone gone. If I had to guess, I'd say Mullen, Arnette, Hayward, Johnson, Robertson, Douglas is the final 6. Nixon/Hobbs/Lawson are gone.

[MrOaktown_56]

If he plays well we resign him. If not, at least a vet leader as the young corners develop. We have 2 starting talents in Robertson/Johnson waiting in the wings behind them. If one of them hits (I am high on Johnson), we'll be sitting pretty after this year.

[BayRaider]

Outside Starting CB's: Casey Hayward, Trayvon Mullen

Starting Nickel CB: Damon Arnette

Starting Free Safety: Trevon Moehrig

Starting Strong Safety: Johnathan Abram

Outside Corner Depth: Rasul Douglas, Isaiah Johnson, Nevin Lawson, Nate Hobbs

Nickel Corner Depth: Nevin Lawson, Amik Robertson

Safety Depth: Karl Joseph, Jeff Heath, Tyree Gillespie (all three can play both positions, although all three are better suited as Strong Safety)

Honestly, not bad! Not good, but not bad by any stretch. Might have a Middle-Ranked Pass Defense for the first time in ages. 

[Turnobili]

9 minutes ago, MrOaktown_56 said:

I fully expect some of these guys to be gone gone. If I had to guess, I'd say Mullen, Arnette, Hayward, Johnson, Robertson, Douglas is the final 6. Nixon/Hobbs/Lawson are gone.

I think Douglas is gone, like Amukamara last year. Hard to think Hobbs won't make it. I think Johnson will be competing with Lawson for the last spot. If he was a 6th or 7th, maybe. But they'd probably IR him and not cut him outright, imo.

i'm concerned that Robertson just doesnt have the chops to play slot. he only played outside in college, and that's where he was dynamic.

Edited May 4, 2021 by Turnobili

[BayRaider]

5 minutes ago, MrOaktown_56 said:

If he plays well we resign him. If not, at least a vet leader as the young corners develop. We have 2 starting talents in Robertson/Johnson waiting in the wings behind them. If one of them hits (I am high on Johnson), we'll be sitting pretty after this year.

Hobbs probably doesn't make the team, but I think Lawson will stay with us. He provides some versatility, and Robertson looked quite bad last year. 

I think Douglas and Johnson will be the main depth for the Outside Corner Spots, but this is really a "now or never" year for Johnson to show something, and consistency. 

[Geezy]

I wanna hear the groaning about this one lmao 

[MrOaktown_56]

It's at least good that we will need to make some hard decisions. Based on the rumor mill, Melvin Ingram might be next. But Nassib is still under contract for 2 years so no idea how that would work, even though he is still a good player.

[BayRaider]

5 minutes ago, Geezy said:

I wanna hear the groaning about this one lmao 

I don’t see how anyone could not like this move. Gambling on Arnette being successful on the boundary this year could of easily broke our season before it even started. If Hayward struggles, Arnette will get another chance on the boundary (switch the two), but Arnette was always best suited to play Nickel in the NFL, before he was even drafted. 

[Darbsk]

11 minutes ago, Turnobili said:

 

i'm concerned that Robertson just doesnt have the chops to play slot

Can I ask what you mean by this phrase, I'm not familiar with 'chops' and what it means?

 

[FreshPrince]

Hopefully he has something left in the tank but corners just decline so rapidly after 30. If he had a down year later year I wouldn’t expect a bounce back. Hope he proves me wrong though! 

[Turnobili]

5 minutes ago, Darbsk said:

Can I ask what you mean by this phrase, I'm not familiar with 'chops' and what it means?

 

doesnt have what it takes to play slot

[BayRaider]

If Lawson is kept, Robertson will be third on the Nickel Depth Chart and not sure how anyone thinks otherwise. Looked quite bad when he did play last year, and pretty lost. This is I’m always extremely weary of LA Tech Prospects. 

[MrOaktown_56]

1 minute ago, BayRaider said:

If Lawson is kept, Robertson will be third on the Nickel Depth Chart and not sure how anyone thinks otherwise. Looked quite bad when he did play last year, and pretty lost. This is I’m always extremely weary of LA Tech Prospects. 

He was a superb college talent. Granted I know that doesn't mean much, but a guy like Nate Hobbs allowed a 100+ rating in college. That doesn't bode well for pro chances. If Robertson can't make strides, he should be gone. But by year 3 we could be looking at a very solid starter if we don't let go of him too soon.