Although 2023 fourth-round draft pick Jakorian Bennett had a disappointing rookie campaign, the start of his sophomore season was nothing short of impressive. The pace of the second-year Las Vegas Raiders cornerback hasn’t slowed down, either.
The Raiders may have a 2-5 record seven weeks into the 2024 NFL season, but that’s no fault of Maryland alum Jakorian Bennett. Not only has he been one of the most productive players in Las Vegas up to this point, but Bennett has been as good as any defensive player across the entirety of the National Football League.
Heading into Week 8, Bennett is a strong contender for the year’s best cornerback league-wide. He’s personally broken up seven passes (fifth-most among corners), swatting away a pass every 26% of throws his way (fourth-highest rate at his position). With a quarterback rating when targeted of 50.7, only six cornerbacks across the NFL have a better mark than Bennett.
The most impressive part of the 24-year-old’s season? No player who’s been targeted at least 10 times, regardless of position, has allowed a better completion percentage than Bennett’s 37.0%.
Compare these numbers to Bennett’s 2023 season. As a rookie, the 5-foot-11 corner allowed 65.6% of passes his way to be caught while earning a 9% forced incompletion percentage. His quarterback rating when targeted was 102.3.
It’s easy to say it’s only been seven games, and truthfully it has only been a mere seven outings. All the same, no cornerback to play for the Silver and Black has had a seven-game stretch like Bennett has since Raiders legend Nnamdi Asomugha.
As fate would have it, just as Bennett has yet to record an interception through the first 21 contests of his career, Asomugha didn’t take a pass the other way until his 49th game as a pro.
A tough test ahead for Las Vegas Raiders CB Jakorian Bennett
If Bennett truly is to follow in Asomugha’s footsteps, he’ll need to prove he’s able to stop the best quarterbacks the NFL has to offer. As it just so happens, the next two quarterbacks who will be throwing footballs against him are Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow; two of the absolute best in the business.
Mahomes is struggling to find momentum this season, but it hasn’t stopped the Kansas City Chiefs from posting a 6-0 record. In any event, Week 8 is typically around the time when Mahomes and his teammates start figuring things out and take off.
Through seven weeks, Mahomes is responsible for six passing touchdowns and eight interceptions. His 231.5 passing yards per game ranks 17th league-wide and his 82.5 quarterback rating ranks 23rd-highest.
That doesn’t change the fact that he’s Patrick Mahomes, however.
Mahomes is still liable to deliver the most improbable of passes, and if Bennett forgets that, the reigning back-to-back Super Bowl champion will make him remember.
After Mahomes comes Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals, who average 25.3 points per contest after seven weeks. They’ve put at least 17 points on the scoreboard in each of their last six outings, scoring 20+ in five-of-six games.
With 14 passing touchdowns and only two interceptions, Burrow’s 110.1 quarterback rating ranks third-highest in the NFL. His 70.4% completion percentage ranks fourth-highest.
If Bennett can hold down the fort against these elite quarterbacks, there won’t be much more for him to prove. Either way, the second-year Raiders corner deserves his flowers for such drastic improvements after only one season.
