The Las Vegas Raiders were able to add yet another integral piece to their secondary by taking Ohio State cornerback Damon Arnette with the 19th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Arnette already has a rather powerful connection to the franchise in Hall of Fame wide receiver Tim Brown. It seems word had gotten to the Raiders legend that one of the newest members of his former team also came from the same hometown.
Brown is a proud Dallas native that went from rooting for the Cowboys to the Silver and Black once he went pro. He has now officially welcomed Arnette to the club.
Brown took to Twitter to congratulate Arnette on making the transition and give his stamp of approval for the pick:
@damon_arnette @raiders the last 1st round pick born in Dallas drafted by the raiders, did pretty good! Lol! No pressure! Welcome to the dark side!! Hit me up if you want tips on JG! Lol. Enjoy the ride!
— Tim Brown (@81TimBrown) April 27, 2020
Arnette responded with some reassurance for his predecessor:
History tends to repeat itself!! 💯Appeciate ya🤝 https://t.co/88AoOlnHXH
— Damon Arnette (@damon_arnette) April 27, 2020
It is safe to say that this is quite the nod for Arnette. There are not many rookies that receive a shoutout from their hometown hero and it is clear that he now has some big shoes to fill as the next notable representative from Dallas.
Arnette is now set to fill in as the starter opposite of Trayvon Mullen heading into the 2020 NFL season. They will have an opportunity to establish themselves as one of the most talented young corner tandems in the league.
Brown certainly has good reason to be confident in his fellow Dallas native. Arnette finished the 2019 campaign with 35 tackles, eight pass deflections and an interception that he returned for a touchdown while playing at Ohio State.
Perhaps even more impressive is that Arnette earned second-team All-Big Ten honors while playing with a broken wrist. His efforts at Ohio State may have been overshadowed by former teammate Jeff Okudah, however, he still proved to be one of the best defensive back prospects in his class.
The Raiders have put an emphasis on shoring up their secondary in recent years. They were able to land a couple of key foundational pieces through the 2019 NFL Draft by taking safety Johnathan Abram in the first round and Mullen in the second round.
Although Abram was limited to just one game during his rookie campaign, he was able to show more than enough promise to earn the trust of the coaching staff. Meanwhile, Mullen’s emergence as a bonafide starter spurred Las Vegas into trading cornerback Gareon Conley during the 2019 campaign.
With all this youth in the secondary, the Raiders made sure to bring in a veteran by signing safety Damarious Randall in free agency. His experience should help serve as a stabilizing factor for this talented, but unproven group.
