Rick Scuteri / AP
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) is tackled in the end zone for a safety by Oakland Raiders free safety Lamarcus Joyner, left, as defensive end Arden Key (99) pursues during the first half of an an NFL football game, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019, in Glendale, Ariz.
Monday, Aug. 31, 2020 | 2 a.m.
Before the 2019 season, the Raiders signed veteran corner Lamarcus Joyner with the intention of lining him up in the slot against smaller, shiftier receivers. It didn’t work, as opposing quarterbacks completed 69.4 percent and racked up a passer rating of 109.8 when targeting Joyner in coverage last year.
If Las Vegas doesn’t fix that problem quickly, poor slot coverage could sink the 2020 season before it really begins.
The Raiders open with a road game at Carolina in Week 1, and that shouldn’t be a difficult matchup for the secondary, as the Panthers don’t possess a top-grade slot receiver. After that, however, Las Vegas’ next four opponents are (in order) New Orleans, New England, Buffalo and Kansas City. Those four teams were among the league’s most productive when throwing to the slot in 2019.
New Orleans’ top slot threat is the exceedingly smooth Michael Thomas, who was targeted 90 times when lined up inside last year. New England tough guy Julian Edelman led the league in slot targets with 133, while Buffalo’s Cole Beasley was the eighth-most targeted slot receiver with 95 passes thrown his way.
Kansas City split its slot duties between Sammie Watkins (59 targets in 2019) and Tyreek Hill (52 targets), but taken together they would have combined for the fourth-most targets.
Can Joyner handle that kind of gauntlet?
Early on in camp he said he was processing information faster in his second year under Las Vegas defensive coordinator Paul Guenther.
“I feel a lot more comfortable,” Joyner said. “I almost feel like it’s my second year again in the league when I went to a complicated system with the Rams under Gregg Williams. It takes a lot to learn with those complicated systems. But I feel much more comfortable, and that’s going to help me with my confidence and making more plays.”
Despite Joyner’s apparent confidence in a bounce-back season, Las Vegas appears to be hedging its bets. The team drafted Amik Robertson in the fourth round in May and the pick was widely praised as one of the steals of the draft. Playing primarily in the slot during his college career at Louisiana Tech, Robertson was Pro Football Focus’s highest-graded cornerback in coverage over the last two seasons.
It would appear that Robertson is the team’s future full-time slot cornerback, but in the present he may not be ready to step in right away as a rookie. Based on training camp performance, Joyner will likely begin the season atop the depth chart while Robertson gets acclimated to the speed and scope of the NFL game. This is where the lack of exhibition games hurt, as that experience could have accelerated Robertson’s development.
As is, the Raiders will play five games before their bye in Week 6. That would seem to be a natural time to make a lineup change if Robertson is coming on strong and Joyner is underperforming, but if the Raiders get shredded by slot receivers in the first five games, it may already be too late.
When asked during camp about his expectations for Joyner in his second year in the Raiders defense, head coach Jon Gruden somewhat surprisingly didn’t mention coverage, instead citing the need for Joyner to do a better job of tackling.
“We have to tackle better and it starts with Joyner,” Gruden said. “The nickel corner should be first or second on the team in tackles every year, that’s how it is in Guenther’s defense. So we need him to really get involved in every single snap in our sub defense and be one of our top tacklers. I think that’s the number one criteria we’re looking for.”
Whether it’s covering or tackling, Joyner figures to be very, very busy early in the season.
Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.
