Oakland Raiders: 3 Standouts from Preseason Week 2 vs. Cardinals

3. Lamarcus Joyner, S

After all the wheeling and dealing they did last year, it was clear that Jon Gruden had a plan to really start building the Oakland Raiders in his image in the 2019 offseason. He obviously used three first-round picks in the draft to accomplish that but they were also quite aggressive in trading for Brown and signing a number of upper-tier (though not elite) free agents.

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One such player was safety Lamarcus Joyner. After spending his first five seasons with the Los Angeles Rams, the 2014 second-round pick signed a four-year, $42 million contract with the Raiders. The move seemed to solidify the safety position where, since the decline of Reggie Nelson and his ultimate departure, Oakland has had plenty of questions.

Now paired with rookie first-round pick Johnathan Abram on the back end, Joyner has the potential to be a part of a fierce safety duo and he showcased that against the Cardinals. The veteran defensive back finished Thursday’s game with one tackle, one sack and a quarterback hit. His sack was certainly the highlight of his outing, setting the tone against what’s supposed to be a high-octane Arizona offense.

There’s no doubt that Joyner and Abram are going to be tone-setters for this Raiders defense in the 2019 season. The question, of course, is how effective the two players will be in doing that. With the effort Joyner put forth — and Abram also as he played quite well — they seem to be ready to play their parts.