Josh McDaniels was the head coach of the Raiders when Jordan Bennett was selected in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft and moved to Las Vegas. Antonio Pierce oversaw the former McGill-Toolen Catholic High School standout’s second season. Pete Carroll, who is getting ready for his first season in Las Vegas and his 19th as an NFL head coach, is working with Bennett as the cornerback approaches his third season.
Bennett and the other Raiders have had to start over every season as a result of the coaching changes.
Bennett remarked, “I feel like there’s no other way that you would want it,” in reference to the need to prove himself every year. You know, you don’t want somebody to just give you anything. I’m here to work, so I just need to show the coaches who I am and what I know I am capable of, then go out there and keep competing.
The defensive backs continue to be of special interest to Carroll, who got his first NFL position in 1984 as the Buffalo Bills’ secondary coach.
“He’s all about just getting the ball,” Bennett stated, “and that’s what I want to kind of implement in my game because I had a lot of breakups or whatever, but if I could turn those breakups into picks, I could really, like, help change the game.” He is obsessed with the ball. He instilling that confidence in us matters a lot and will translate to the field since it is what we preach every single day.
Although Bennett views himself as a shutdown corner, he has yet to intercept an NFL ball. In 2024, he recorded eight pass breakups, but his season was cut short by surgery for a shoulder issue.
You know, I haven’t had both shoulders since college.Bennett stated. I go out there during games knowing that my shoulder will pop out, so I’m like, man. I think I had a ruptured labrum last season, which is why my shoulder probably popped out five times. Like, I was just thugging it out, you know, even though many people are unaware of that. They’ll reinstall it, reinstall it, or reinstall it.
However, it’s nice to have it back in its proper place. It is now kind of time to continue moving forward.
Bennett was a Maryland rookie selected in the fourth round who appeared in 14 games, four of which were starts, and had 360 defensive plays. Bennett participated in 10 games with seven starts and 461 defensive snaps during the previous campaign.
Bennett-covered quarterbacks in 2023 completed 26 of 38 throws for 316 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions, giving them a passing efficiency rating of 102.5. Targeting Bennett last season caused the passing-efficiency rating to fall to 67.7 as passers went 23-of-44 for 233 yards without any touchdowns or interceptions.
Bennett remarked, “I was feeling good going into last year.” I simply felt assured. It seemed as though everything simply kind of slowed down after having that experience. I’m going to try to do the same this year since I had a lot of guys who had faith in me. You know, just keep working and keep my head down.
The 2024 season saw three Las Vegas cornerbacks play more defensive snaps than Bennett. After playing 94 percent of the defensive snaps in the previous season, Jack Jones was cut by the Raiders on April 6. In 2024, Nate Hobbs played half of the defensive snaps before leaving in free agency.
Decamerion Richardson, who played 559 defensive snaps last season—half of Las Vegas’ total—is back. The Raiders added Eric Stokes and Darien Porter to their outside corner competition this offseason. Stokes signed as a free agency from the Green Bay Packers, and Porter joined from Iowa State as a third-round choice in the April NFL Draft.
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When the rookies report on July 17 and the veterans arrive on July 22, the Raiders begin training camp during their summer vacation. On August 7, Las Vegas will play the Seattle Seahawks in the first of their three preseason games. On September 7, they will play the New England Patriots in the first game of the regular season.
During his final three seasons at McGill-Toolen, Bennett, an All-State sprinter, and the Yellow Jackets advanced to the AHSAA Class 7A football championship game.
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Mark Inabinett works for Alabama Media Group as a sports writer. You may follow him at @AMarkG1 on X.
