Oakland Raiders: Five reasons they could miss the playoffs in 2018

Secondary Collapses

It’s hard to imagine this team’s secondary being any worse than last year’s incarnation. Watching Oakland’s corners get beat like the proverbial rented mule was oftentimes painful. It was an absolute dumpster fire week in and week out.

Now, it might be wholly unfair to put all of the blame on David Amerson, Sean Smith, and T.J. Carrie – they were after all, saddled with Ken Norton Jr. and his incompetence in actually running a defense. But, they certainly didn’t do themselves, or the team, any favors either.

But, 2017 is now in the rearview mirror as Gruden has cleaned house. With Gareon Conley, Rashaan Melvin, and Shareece Wright likely set to be the team’s top three corners, the secondary is going to have a much different look.

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The question is – will the 2018 version fare better than the 2017 version did?

Conley is still a huge question mark. Though he’s showed flashes of being a top-flight corner, the fact that he missed practically all of his rookie season means there are going to be some big bumps in the road ahead as he adjusts to playing at the NFL level – he played just 92 defensive snaps last year, so he’s still got a learning curve ahead of him.

As far as Melvin goes, he parlayed a very solid 2017 into a deal with the Raiders, and having snagged three interceptions and had 13 passes defensed in just 10 games last year, he would seem to be an upgrade at the position. He’s still young, aggressive, and has a nose for the ball.

But, the fact remains, that although he’s a five-year vet, 2017 was Melvin’s first chance at being a regular starter. Which means, he’s still largely unproven. His first look as a full-time starter though, was promising.

If Melvin can continue to ascend, Wright is serviceable in the slot, and Conley (in what basically amounts to his second rookie season), can stay ahead of the learning curve and minimize the rookie mistakes, Oakland’s secondary could be in very good shape.

If not – things could get ugly again very quickly, as opposing quarterbacks, once again, feast on a dumpster fire of a secondary.