The Oakland Raiders started their 2019 campaign with a 14-3 preseason win over the Los Angeles Rams. In preseason Week 2 action, they'll fly out to the desert to face the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday, August 15th. A rebuilt team with both sides of the ball receiving plenty of fresh faces, there are a fair amount of players worth watching on Thursday.
Let's dive in and take a look at three players the Raiders and their fans should keep an eye on this week against the Cardinals.
3. Clelin Ferrell – DE
The No. 4 overall pick — and a polarizing one at that — Clelin Ferrell naturally has the attention of Raiders Nation. His solid preseason debut should help him gain more attention in his second exhibition game.
The Raiders designated Ferrell as a captain against the Los Angeles Rams, and he played like one. On the first drive, he brought in a holding penalty to the Rams and on the second, he did the same thing. The third is where Raiders fans saw a bit more, as he made a textbook tackle to take a scrambling quarterback to the ground.
Can't get away from @Cle_Missile. pic.twitter.com/kZok0PRE42
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) August 11, 2019
Clelin Ferrell accumulated two tackles in his NFL debut, but the box score doesn't do him justice. In his limited action, Ferrell showed why he was the No. 4 pick, as he continued to bring pressure off the edge, set the edge for the run, and didn't make many mistakes. All preseason and regular season long, Raiders fans will be paying close attention to him.
2. The Cornerbacks
Let's just lump all young cornerbacks into the same category, because the Raiders have spent considerable assets over the years rebuilding the group. Though Gareon Conley leads the unit and has shown improvement to warrant consideration for the No. 1 job, eyes should shift closer to who will start alongside him in the present or future.
The Raiders drafted Trayvon Mullen (second round) and Isaiah Johnson (fourth) in the 2019 NFL Draft. Mullen started in the Week 1 preseason game and recorded a clutch pass deflection to force fourth down. On the other hand, Johnson took a knee to the head on the second play of the game.
Nick Nelson is another name to watch and could be the starter Week 1. He's been banged up in training camp, and it's unknown if he'll play in the preseason Week 2 game. Live-action is vital to his stock as a potential starter. A fourth-round pick in 2018, many considered him to go far higher before he tore his meniscus pre-draft.
The unit as a whole will be worth watching as the Raiders are attempting to fix it with young players. Considering it's the preseason, those youngsters should see an uptick in snaps in week two to further hash out the depth chart.
1. Josh Jacobs – RB
Josh Jacobs didn't play in the first preseason game, will he play in the second? Head coach Jon Gruden talked about his August workload, not giving indications if he'll play Week 2 against the Cardinals or not, per AL.com's Mark Indabinett,
“We’re not going to go out and give Josh Jacobs 35 or 40 carries in August. But he carried the ball a lot in the last two days. I think you see vision, you see patience and you see burst. And what you haven’t seen is live, full-speed tackling, and, hopefully, he gets a couple shots in August, but our fans will to have to wait to see most of that when the [Denver] Broncos come to town [for the first regular-season game on September 9th]”
If he does play, he'll be worth watching. The former Alabama product was the first running back selected in the 2019 NFL Draft for a good reason. Jacobs flashes dominance as a power runner, but is far more than that with patience behind the line of scrimmage, receiving ability, elusiveness, and speed to boot.
Gruden finds his Marshawn replacement
Raiders select Josh Jacobs No. 24 overall pic.twitter.com/wI1xrTk60J
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 26, 2019
Jacobs is expected to start for the Raiders immediately. He was a dynamic force in college and can be the same in the pros. You'd be lying to say you don't want to see him in some capacity before September 9th.
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