This post is Part Five of a series counting down the 10 most important Las Vegas Raiders players under contract for next season (not including Derek Carr). Guys set to be free agents (Josh Jacobs, Jarrett Stidham, etc.) aren’t included here. Click here for Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four of this series.
No. 6: Nate Hobbs
The 2021 NFL Draft was not a weekend the Raiders and their fans will look back on fondly if we’re being honest. First-round pick Alex Leatherwood lasted one season before being cut and just 12 months after that draft, the franchise has two players from that class in a list of their top 10 most important players — linebacker Divine Deablo (No. 10) and cornerback Nate Hobbs.
Not great!
While Deablo’s inclusion is mostly a product of the talent vacuum, Hobbs is a genuine building block for a defense desperately in need of one. His rookie season was spent entirely in the slot — where he earned PFF’s highest rookie corner grade — but defensive coordinator Patrick Graham moved him all over the field in his second professional season with varying success.
2022 Stats: 57 tackles, 47 receptions allowed (65 targets), 0 interceptions, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, 4 passes deflected
2023 Outlook
When it comes to Hobbs, the biggest project for Graham is figuring out where his talent can be maximized. As mentioned above, he was excellent as a slot corner as a rookie — but was fairly average as a hybrid inside/outside corner in 2022. Was it because of the new scheme? Was it because of poor play around him? Natural regression?
These are the questions facing the Raiders and Hobbs as he hopes to get back to the type of performances fans were accustomed to in his first season in silver and black. In today’s NFL, an argument can be made that outside of quarterback and pass rusher, corners are the most valuable position in the league — partly because of the explosion of pass-catching talent, but also because of the general dearth of defensive back depth.
For a team with dozens of roster holes, there’s a lot of pressure on Hobbs to be more of an “answer” than a question mark in 2023 and beyond. If he reverts back to what we saw in 2021, the Raiders will have the flexibility to allocate resources — both cap space and draft capital — elsewhere, leaving one of the most expensive positions held down by a guy still on his rookie deal.
