One of the most surprising developments from the 2021 season for the Raiders was the play of Nate Hobbs. The fifth-round pick from Illinois won the starting slot job for the Raiders by Week 1 and never looked back.
Going into Year 2, there has been some speculation that the Raiders would move Hobbs to the outside as Casey Hayward Jr. left in free agency. However, that hasn’t been the case so far in OTAs.
According to Tashan Reed of The Athletic, Hobbs has worked exclusively inside at slot corner during OTAs. Here is what he had to say about the second-year cornerback:
“Nate Hobbs is still at nickelback while Anthony Averett and Rock Ya-Sin are the starters at outside corner as Mullen recovers from an undisclosed surgery that he had last month.
Hobbs played well as a rookie last season, but off the field he was arrested on DUI charges in January — the charges were dropped after he pleaded guilty to careless driving — and was cited for speeding the following month. He’s focused on improving as a player, obviously, but he also indicated that he’s grown as a young man.”
The Raiders have more outside cornerback options than slot corners on the roster, but it’s interesting nonetheless that Hobbs is still playing on the inside. We’ll see if this remains consistent through minicamp and training camp, but it appears that Hobbs will be the team’s primarily slot cornerback again in 2022.
Hobbs was recently ranked as one of the top ten slot cornerbacks in the league by Pro Football Focus, so it’s understandable why the Raiders might be hesitant to move him. With so many teams putting their best receiver in the slot, it might be a good idea to keep your best cornerback inside in today’s NFL.