The Las Vegas Raiders (2-6) suffered their fourth straight loss on Sunday afternoon, falling to the Kansas City Chiefs, 27-20.
The newest Chiefs acquisition, receiver DeAndre Hopkins, tipped his cap to a pair of Raider secondary defenders who impressed him with their play in the loss.
Raider cornerbacks Jack Jones and Jakorian Bennett received high praise from one of the league's top receivers after the game as Hopkins was asked about the two defenders that had guarded him for most of the game.
"They're going to be two good corners in this league for a while," Hopkins said. "I knew Jack [Jones] before he came over here, and then, zero [Bennett], is gonna be good also, his second year. Showed some good stuff on film, those guys are going to be good for a while."
It is not every day that a five-time Pro Bowler and future Hall of Famer calls out his defenders by name and gives them compliments including the confidence to be centerpieces of an NFL defense.
Both Jones and Bennett are just beginning their careers and have many years to impress opposing receivers. It would be wise for the Raiders to keep these guys around for several more seasons in hopes of adding a few pieces to build a lockdown secondary defense.
Jones is in his third year, finishing the game with five tackles and a pass deflection while Bennett, in his second season, had six tackles. The two were tasked with limiting Hopkins and several other Chiefs receivers and did a good enough job of silencing them.
Hopkins finished the game with 29 yards on just two catches even though he was not targeted much in his Chiefs debut. The other main matchup was against receiver Xavier Worthy, who was held fairly silent with four catches for 37 yards and a touchdown.
The two young cornerbacks have the ability to play a long time in this league, and if Hopkins can recognize that, the Raiders organization will as well. They will hit the road next Sunday to play the Cincinnati Bengals (3-5), in search of a necessary win to snap a painful losing streak.
