Raiders training camp: Confident secondary dominates as quarterback struggles continue (2024)

COSTA MESA, Calif. — When quarterback Gardner Minshew attempted a pass over the middle to tight end Brock Bowers during an 11-on-11 drill, cornerback Jakorian Bennett was right there. Bowers dove for the ball, but Bennett extended his arm and knocked it away.

Bennett began to stand over Bowers while flexing his arms as the rookie tried to get up. Bowers eventually shrugged him off and jogged back to the huddle as Bennett celebrated with his fellow defensive backs, but the message was sent.

Through the first week of training camp for the Las Vegas Raiders, the secondary has been dominant. With each practice, their collective confidence only continues to swell.

As concerning as the struggles of quarterbacks Minshew and Aidan O’Connell might be, it should also be acknowledged that the stellar play of the defensive backs has been a major factor in the equation. The Raiders have a lot of offensive weapons in the passing game between receivers Davante Adams, Jakobi Meyers and Tre Tucker and tight ends Bowers, Michael Mayer and Harrison Bryant, but they haven’t been able to create much separation through three practices. There have been plenty of times when Minshew and O’Connell have flat-out missed open targets and made poor decisions, but there have also been instances when they simply don’t have anywhere to go with the ball.

🔴📽️ Live: Tyree Wilson, Marcus Epps, Tre Tucker and Jakobi Meyers address the media during 2024 Training Camp. https://t.co/tI14DAoRai

— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) July 26, 2024

The Raiders started training camp Tuesday with a practice that featured just one team period but ramped it up Wednesday with more seven-on-seven and 11-on-11 work. They took it to another level Friday with their most competitive session of training camp.

Friday’s practice included one-on-one drills along with several 11-on-11 drills. There was a continued emphasis on red zone work, but there was also a period when the offense had to attempt to move the ball down the field. The offense got off to a quick start, but the defense settled in and decisively won the day. That’s been a theme for the Raiders going back to spring OTAs. Given they haven’t been able to practice in pads yet and the offense rarely runs the ball, most of the credit for that goes to the secondary.

The Raiders were solid against the pass last year — they gave up just 3,610 passing yards (12th) and 6.9 yards per pass (13th) — but there’s another level to reach. An improved defensive line — with the addition of defensive tackle Christian Wilkins — is expected to help that effort, and cornerback Jack Jones joked Thursday that “we probably won’t even have to cover.” But it’s an encouraging sign that the secondary is thriving even without a live rush. The defensive backs aren’t stuck on last year’s accomplishments, but the success is paying dividends with their collective belief in themselves.

“It doesn’t matter what you did last year. It doesn’t matter what you did yesterday. It’s about what you do today,” Jones said. “You’ve got to wake up like that every day. If you’re not willing to attack the day, then, shoot, you lost. We’re waking up every day to attack the day.”

Observations

• Once again, it was a bumpy performance for O’Connell and Minshew. O’Connell took the first reps with the starters Friday during an 11-on-11 red zone drill and got off to a strong start, finding Meyers on a pair of touchdown passes toward the back of the end zone.

When it came to move-the-ball 11-on-11 drills, however, O’Connell stalled out. Most of his completions were short dump-off passes. And on one rep, defensive end Maxx Crosby won quickly off the line of scrimmage and pressured O’Connell immediately. The quarterback took a couple of hesitant steps backward before he lobbed an ill-advised pass downfield that was easily picked off by Jones. Later, O’Connell attempted to anticipate a throw toward the sideline that was easily intercepted by safety Isaiah Pola-Mao.

Minshew didn’t turn the ball over after being picked off twice Thursday, but he also didn’t generate much success. O’Connell took significantly more snaps, and Minshew seemed to struggle to find a rhythm. He managed to end practice on a strong note, rolling out and finding tight end Michael Mayer in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown.

• On defense, starting safeties Marcus Epps and Tre’von Moehrig have developed a strong chemistry. They consistently limit explosive plays downfield while breaking on passes and making plays on the ball.

“We’ve come a long way,” Epps said of Moehrig. “We’ve gotten on that level where we’re just starting to be on the same wavelength and know what the other person is doing.”

• Whether he’s lined up deep or as a slot defender, Pola-Mao has been effective as the third safety. His size and length help him deal with larger receiving threats, but he also has the foot speed to stick with quicker targets.

“It’s very good for a young guy to see them crave learning and crave to improve their football IQ, and I feel like he’s been doing that since last year,” Epps said. “He’s just been growing and growing.”

• At cornerback, Jones displayed resilience. He was beaten badly by Meyers for multiple scores during the first 11-on-11 drill and early in one-on-ones. Toward the end of the one-on-one session, though, he was glued to Adams in coverage and deflected the ball away. In the ensuing 11-on-11 period, there weren’t many passes completed in Jones’ direction.

“What you do with your past is you hopefully learn from your mistakes more than your positives,” coach Antonio Pierce said of Jones. “Everybody’s going to talk about the plays he made, but what me and Jack have always talked about in his career is just, ‘What are the things you’ve done wrong?’ and ‘Let’s not repeat those mistakes.’ … Jack is an emotional player. He loves the game of football. And I think for Jack, if he can just keep working on being consistent, we’ll be fine.”

• Bennett had another strong practice after flashing during Thursday’s session. He has the edge in the competition to start at outside cornerback across from Jones.

“His rookie year may not have gone the way he wanted it to, but I feel like he’s gotten his confidence back,” Epps said of Bennett. “He worked really hard this offseason, and it’s really showing out here. … I feel like he can be an elite corner in this league.”

• Nickelback Nate Hobbs often accepted the challenge of defending Adams, particularly during one-on-one drills. Toward the end of the period, he was physical enough at the line of scrimmage to disrupt Adams’ route, stuck with the receiver as he attempted to reroute himself and deflected the ball away.

• The Raiders are also beginning to ramp up the involvement of rookie cornerback Decamerion Richardson. The 23-year-old has a lot of physical talent at 6 feet 2, 188 pounds with a 4.34-second 40-yard dash time, but he has also impressed the coaches with his mental development.

“Decam is another one,” Pierce said. “He’s quiet and he doesn’t say anything, but … he’s just taking a lot of mental reps. And then when he goes in, he’s not making those mistakes. And I think we’re doing a good job as coaches of spoon-feeding him and not throwing him out there to the wolves right away, so he doesn’t get burnt and lose that confidence.”

• It’ll be interesting to see whether the Raiders’ pass catchers can swing things in their favor when they return to practice Monday. Veterans Adams, Meyers and Bryant have had the most success among the receiving options, but younger players such as Tucker, Bowers and Mayer have been relatively quiet. Without improvement from the receiving corps, it’ll be tougher for O’Connell and Minshew to make strides. The pass catchers have been subjected to a lot of trash-talking from the secondary, but they believe it’ll make them better in the long run.

“That’s what you want. For us to see a top NFL defense every day like that is huge,” Tucker said. “Defenses are typically a little bit ahead starting off, but when we get in pads (Tuesday), I think we’ll ramp it up on them a little bit and we’ll quiet the talking down.”

(Photo of Decamerion Richardson: Ethan Miller / Getty Images)

Tashan Reed is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the Las Vegas Raiders. He previously covered Florida State football for The Athletic. Prior to joining The Athletic, he covered high school and NAIA college sports for the Columbia Missourian, Mizzou football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball for SBNation blog Rock M Nation, wrote stories focused on the African-American community for The St. Louis American and was a sports intern at the Commercial Appeal in Memphis through the Sports Journalism Institute. Follow Tashan on Twitter @tashanreed