Jon Gruden and Aqib Talib could tell you: The second overall pick in the history of the Las Vegas Raiders was Ohio State cornerback Damon Arnette, selected by the newly relocated AFC West franchise last month at No. 19. Arnette, 23, recorded 140 total tackles and five interceptions in 47 games with the Buckeyes over four years in the Big Ten, and the Raiders are betting he'll be a big part of their secondary for years to come.
Head coach Jon Gruden likened the team's second first-round pick from last month to veteran cornerback Aqib Talib.
Per the team's official Twitter account:
“He played last year hurt with a broken right wrist, I think he’s the best tackler in this draft,” Gruden said of Arnette, via Raiders Wire. “I think he’s an old school, bump-and-run Raider cornerback that’s physical and nasty. He reminds me a lot — I’m not going to guarantee this — but he reminds me a lot of Aqib Talib, a guy that we drafted in Tampa several years ago. He’s a guy that has great confidence in himself, he comes from a big arena at Ohio State, and the bigger the game the better he played.”
"I think he's an old-school bump and run Raider cornerback."
Coach Gruden compares @damon_arnette to some greats and what to expect from the young playmaker. pic.twitter.com/gpl8qz6R67
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) May 4, 2020
Talib, a 34-year-old free agent who last played for the Los Angeles Rams during the 2019 NFL season, is a former first-round pick out of Kansas who spent two years with the Rams before being traded to the Miami Dolphins and placed on the injured reserve list. Before that, he spent four-plus seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and one and half years with the New England Patriots, later winning Super Bowl 50 with the Denver Broncos in 2015-16. A five-time Pro Bowl corner, Talib has been a mainstay at the position for over a decade in the league.
While also a first-round pick in the NFL Draft, Arnette can only hope to have the kind of impactful career Talib has had. Entering his first season with the Raiders, Arnette joins a Las Vegas secondary including second-year and ex-first-rounder safety Johnathan Abram, Erik Harris, and sophomore cornerback Trayvon Mullen.
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