Raiders Have a Second-Year Returner in the Secondary Who Should Not be Forgotten About

Las Vegas Raiders second-year cornerback Jakorian Bennett will look to rebound from a rookie season that went south after starting strong.

Sep 24, 2023; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Las Vegas Raiders cornerback Jakorian Bennett (0) breaks up a pass attempt to Pittsburgh Steelers guard Spencer Anderson (74) during the second quarter at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports / Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

The Las Vegas Raiders have several members of their roster who are easy to overlook when you think about the depth across the board.

Second-year cornerback Jakorian Bennett is one of them. Bennett, who was selected by the Raiders in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft, started his rookie campaign strong, starting in each of Las Vegas' first four games last year.

But having suffered a hamstring injury in Week 4 and a shoulder injury later in the season, Bennett was limited the rest of the year, an unfortunate setback for a player who had proved himself as a starter in last year's training camp.

Bennett has bounced back, though, and has delivered an impressive training camp showing so far.

Rightfully so, Raiders coach Antonio Pierce is still high on the young cornerback.

"You know what, because he had a rough rookie year, right?" Pierce said at training camp on Friday. "He started here, he started, played some games, got nicked up. Then he's on the bench, some other guys come in. So, you go through those ups and downs as a rookie and I think he's really done a great job this year just mentally preparing himself of, ‘Hey, whatever it is, I have to deal with it.'

"And when you get the opportunity to make plays, make those plays. He had a great two plays yesterday tipping the ball, one was an interception, but just overall his confidence is slowly building and growing. And I just think that that room overall with Jack [Jones] and Nate [Hobbs] in there and [Brandon] Facyson, they're doing a good job of mentoring him."

Bennett has a chance to start fresh this season and won't be faced with the same kind of pressure that rookies endure going into their first season.

"I think the most important thing for him now is he's not under fire," said Raiders cornerbacks coach Ricky Manning Jr. back in May. "Being a rookie, you're thrown out there -- I've been in that same situation -- you're under fire, and you're still learning as you're going. Now, he has a way higher understanding of the defense, of Coach [Patrick] Graham, how he calls it, and of the game. So, it's a little bit slowed down for him, so now, he can really work on that development, he can really get better on the things he needs to focus on."

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