Raiders 2019 Draft Prospect: CB David Long

Name: David Long

Position: Cornerback

School: The University of Michigan

Height: 5’11”

Weight: 196 pounds

Draft Projection: Day 2

Stats

Speed

Long , from the start of the film, displays excellent burst. Regardless of route, Long stays stride for stride with receivers. More importantly, he recovers well, exploding to the play, whether it is a run or pass route. Long rarely appears out of the play.

Coverage

Look for Long to reside tight and close to the receiver. At the line, he will try to accost the player. Using an outstanding punch and hand placement allows him to control the action. After those five yards, Long maintains tight coverage.

Agility

When you look at his height, some would concern themselves with Long’s ability to contest 50/50 balls. Despite standing 5’11, Long possesses the vertical explosion to fight with much taller wideouts for the ball. On the ground, his nimbleness to deal with sudden breaks will keep him in the play.

Hands

When quarterbacks would target Long, he showed the ability to make the grab. Granted, not many opposing passers chose that tact. At the next level, Long will see his fair share of pass breakups and interceptions.

Tackling

Thankfully, Long applies his feisty nature to tackling. With a quick grip and strong drive, he gets the target to the ground immediately. Furthermore, Long’s discipline approach prevents whiffs that allow wideouts to sprint away. He is nothing if not sound.

Intangibles

If you delve into Long’s stats over his 24-game college career, you notice that those numbers are not fantastic. In all honesty, teams largely threw away from him. At the college level, that forced respect is a rarity.

Raiders Fit

With Gareon Conley occupying the other side of the field, the Raiders still need a young corner on the other side. Although the team gave Daryl Worley a second round tender, do you believe that he is the long-term solution at corner? Moreover, whom do the Raiders turn to, if Worley suffers an injury or worse, serves a suspension? Long provides the Raiders with a plug and play corner that will give them stability. With his physicality and ability to recover, Oakland needs a corner unafraid to fight at the line of scrimmage. Additionally, Long’s penchant for five-yard muggings should immediately benefit a currently undefined pass rush.

With Tyreek Hill and Mike Williams lurking twice yearly, the Raiders need a corner to take a bit of the wind out of their sails. Not to mention, Sammy Watkins, Keenan Allen and Emmanuel Sanders will give Oakland fits.