Why Raiders Rookie CB M.J. Devonshire Will Have an Advantage in Camps

Las Vegas Raiders seventh-round pick M.J. Devonshire had experience playing press coverage at Pitt.

Sep 23, 2023; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers defensive back M.J. Devonshire (12) / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

When you're a rookie in the NFL, any bit of experience you can carry over with you can be beneficial in an endeavor to earn some meaningful snaps.

For a seventh-round pick like Las Vegas Raiders cornerback M.J. Devonshire, that can be quite important. Fortunately for Devonshire, there's one strength in particular he's going to have that could give him an edge in offseason camps.

In a recent episode of the "Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast," our own Hondo S. Carpenter Sr. was joined by Devonshire's college coach, Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi, who discussed in depth how the young cornerback will stand out at the next level.

"One thing about the University of Pittsburgh, if you come here, is our corners are going to press every down, Narduzzi said. "We're going to be pressed, we may bail one out of 10 times, but we're going to pressed up there, we're going to be in your face. One thing I can tell you about M.J -- we know he can run already, and that's the No. 1 priority for a guy that can press because you're always going to get beat at the line of scrimmage, but can you make up the speed and get back in fades on the guy; but he [Devonshire] can press and get his hands on you.

"But I think the most important, I guess, ingredient that M.J.'s going to have, like all of our corners that go to the National Football League ... the one thing that M.J.'s going to bring to the Raiders and that defense is that he's not going to be afraid. They're going to bring some corners in that play half the time, play off-coverage, playing soft, and playing Cover 3, whatever it may be -- this guy is used to it. When they come into camp and they say, 'Hey, you're pressing out there,' he's going to be like, 'OK, that's good. I can do that all day, that's my job.'"

Devonshire was one of three defensive backs the Raiders drafted in the 2024 NFL Draft.

You can watch Narduzzi's entire interview with Carpenter here.

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