If the Raiders want to have any chance of competing for a playoff spot during the 2023 season, they are going to need to get a ton of production from their rookie class. Luckily, this was a big haul by Dave Ziegler and Josh McDaniels with a ton of talent on both sides of the ball brought in.
But which player could make the biggest difference for the Raiders during the 2023 season?
In a recent article by Pro Football Focus, they named each team’s rookie that could have the most impact in 2023. For the Raiders, the name listed was Tyree Wilson or Michael Mayer. Instead, it was fourth-round cornerback Jakorian Bennett from Maryland:
Bennett was a much-needed addition to the Raiders’ cornerback room. He allowed a completion on just 44.4% of targets into his coverage in 2022.
Given the state of the Raiders’ cornerback room prior to the draft, Bennett has a legitimate opportunity to compete for snaps on the outside right out of the gate.
Wilson and Mayer are both expected to play a bunch of snaps for the Raiders this season, but neither may be in the starting lineup right away. But Bennett has a fantastic chance to win a starting job out of the gate and be one of the team’s outside cornerbacks.
While the safe bet is to assume that Wilson or Mayer will be the team’s most impactful rookie from the 2023 draft, don’t rule out the chance that Bennett grabs a starting job and doesn’t look back.
