Oakland Raiders: Gareon Conley showed immediate promise

By Cody Williams | Sep 19, 2017

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 06: Defensive back Gareon Conley of Ohio State participates in a drill during day six of the NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium on March 6, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

The Oakland Raiders saw their 2017 first-round pick, cornerback Gareon Conley, debut in Week 2 and the rookie showed what he can bring to the secondary.

For the majority of training camp, things were more disconcerting than anything regarding cornerback Gareon Conley. The first-round pick of the Oakland Raiders in the most recent draft missed a great deal of time with shin splints. He returned late and starting getting the practice work he needed. However, his late return ultimately kept him off the field in Week 1.

As the Raiders welcomed the New York Jets to the Bay Area on Sunday in Week 2, however, Conley made his debut. Right out of the gate, it was clear how much faith head coach Jack Del Rio and defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. had in the rookie. They gave the youngster out of Ohio State 46 snaps in his debut, though that was partially due to the absence of Sean Smith.

In those 46 snaps, though, Conley looked like a stud, specifically when he was in coverage. Per Pro Football Focus Elite, the rookie was in coverage on 28 of his 46 snaps. On those snaps, Jets quarterback Josh McCown only targeted him twice, completing just one. The completion was for minuscule damage, gaining only eight yards. On the other target, Conley nearly had an interception.

Also per PFF Elite, Conley was among the best players to suit up at cornerback in Week 2 in one of their most fascinating statistics, Yards Per Coverage Snap. In his debut, the rookie posted the seventh-best mark in the NFL in that category, allowing only 0.29 Yards Per Coverage Snap. And according to the Pro Football Focus Edge player grades, Conley graded as the 13th best overall player at the position through two weeks.

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Just looking at the film, the stats bear out what was plain to see. The young man out of Ohio State was lauded for his coverage abilities and ball-skills coming into the 2017 NFL Draft. He had all of that on full display in his first taste of NFL action.

Now, it’s certainly worth noting that Conley’s first game as a professional came against a Jets team that uses the looses definition of professional. Their No. 1 receiver, Jermaine Kearse, was most often matched up with veteran David Amerson, who struggled to contain the former Seahawk. That left Conley matched up with the likes of Robbie Anderson and Jeremy Kerley, be it on the outside or in the slot. Neither are remotely elite at the position.

So while it’s impressive to see Conley perform well as he got onto the field for the first time, it’s also important to temper expectations moving forward a bit. As the rookie faces a higher level of competition throughout the season, we could see more growing pains than we did in Week 2. With that said, the immediate returns from the cornerback are exceptionally promising. Conley performed as a first-round selection should, especially against an inferior quarterback and wide receivers.

Obviously Oakland was taking a massive risk in picking Conley given the legal trouble that swirled around him in the days just before the draft. However, now that no charges were filed in the alleged rape case, it appears he’s in the clear and that the Raiders were correct in what their homework on the allegations told them that led to them using a first-round pick on him.

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For a Raiders secondary that was routinely torched last season, they drafted with the clear intention of improving that. Though it’s unfortunate that high-upside second-round pick Obi Melifonwu started the regular season on IR, it appears that they’ve hit on their first-round selection. If Conley can not only persist with this level of performance, but also continue to develop, he could be a special player to help shore up this defense.

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