When you continuously draft some of the fastest players in college football, you are eventually going to have a super-fast team. And that's what the Las Vegas Raiders are trying to do with their roster.
Let's be honest, in today's game on the offensive side of the ball, speed wins. Speed is one of the most important things in the game because it helps you counter defensive schemes and gives defenders mismatches that they can't guard as easily. When you're fast, you're hard to stop. And really that goes for both sides of the ball.
We know from his time with the Seattle Seahawks that Pete Carroll loves speed. And, you can even say the same thing about John Spytek from his time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. So, you knew they would draft some fast players in their first-ever draft class with the Raiders.
He drafted Darien Porter, the Iowa State cornerback who ran a 40-yard dash in the 4.3s, and Dont'e Thornton Jr., the wide receiver from Tennessee who also ran in the 4.3s. And get this, both guys are very tall.
But a few years ago, the Raiders drafted a super-fast cornerback. Now, there is a bit of inside competition. Who's the fastest on the team?
"A thousand percent. I'm the fastest by far... Yeah, he's [Wide Receiver Dont'e Thornton Jr.] nice, like six-five, 4.3 fast, so he got it. But he's going to continue to sharpen it up, and he's going to help us a lot for sure," Jakorian Bennett told reporters last week during mandatory minicamp.
Bennett ran a faster 40-yard dash than both of them at 4.30. So, on paper, he is faster. But the other two do have longer strides with longer legs. I say, to settle this, we let them all three race.
But seriously, it's great that the Raiders are making that a priority now.
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