The Las Vegas Raiders made a much-needed addition to their cornerbacks room in the 2024 NFL Draft when they selected Mississippi State cornerback Decamerion Richardson in the fourth round.
Las Vegas is set with two starters at the cornerback position in Jack Jones, who will work on the boundary, and Nate Hobbs, who does his work from the slot.
However, they need another starter opposite Jones, a role Richardson will compete for. It remains to be seen if the Mississippi State product can grab the starting job in his first year over guys like Jakorian Bennett and Brandon Facyson, but it's not like either is exactly stiff competition.
RD 4 | PK 112 - Raiders: Decamerion Richardson CB, Mississippi State
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) April 27, 2024
The @Raiders add the cornerback with the highest athleticism score (88) among his position group in this year's class to a pass defense that allowed the 2nd-highest expected completion percentage in 2023… pic.twitter.com/qudQp32Pl2
Let's get to know Richardson more by taking a look at some of the pre-draft scouting reports about him. There is one common theme: Richardson has athleticism in spades.
Decamerion Richardson scouting reports
Dane Brugler, The Athletic
Position rank: 18
Round projection: 4th-5th
A two-year starter at Mississippi State, Richardson was an outside cornerback in former head coach Zach Arnett’s split-coverage scheme. Although his lack of ball production stands out, he led the Bulldogs with seven passes defended in 2023 and led all SEC cornerbacks in tackles both his junior and senior seasons. A rangy, long-limbed corner, Richardson has outstanding speed to play sticky coverage, and he is one of the best tackling cornerbacks in the draft class. However, he labors when attempting to find the football in coverage — by the time he gets his hands involved at the catch point, the completion is often already on the stat sheet. Overall, Richardson’s inability to consistently make plays on the football is a red flag, but his size/speed traits and ascen ding talent are tools that defensive coaches will want to develop in the NFL. He projects as a developmental press-man cornerback.
Lance Zierlein, NFL.com
Round projection: 4th
Two-year starting cornerback with outstanding physical features but below-average coverage features. He’s leggy with below-average lateral transitions and change of direction in space. Richardson doesn’t play with enough anticipation or short-area burst to make plays on the ball but does have a big make-up gear in a straight line. He’s OK as a tackler but should get better with a greater focus in that department. Richardson’s size and top-end speed will immediately garner attention, but he doesn’t appear to have the skill set to play safety and will be limited by a narrow scheme fit.
Ian Cummings, Pro Football Network
Round projection: Mid- to late-Day 2
It’s not brash to say that Richardson might have one of the highest ceilings in the 2024 NFL Draft CB class. He has truly effortless explosiveness and closes ground in a blink with his accelerative capacity and long-strider athleticism.
Going further, for his size — 6’2″, 188 pounds, with arms well over 32″ long — Richardson has extremely impressive short-area twitch, agility, malleability, and recovery athleticism, with enough sink to channel his speed through direction changes and supplement transitions.
On film, Richardson’s complete physical pallet yields a complete technical toolbox as well. He can match and jam WRs in press-man, using feet first. He can pedal and plant in off-man and uses shuffle-steps and side-saddle to maintain hip leverage in zone.
To top it all off, Richardson plays with a play pace that matches his blistering speed. He exudes relentless energy coming downhill in run support, and he’s quick to react to route modulations and breaks in off-man and zone coverage.
Having said all this, the 23-year-old still has room to improve. His technique can feature slight inefficiencies at times, and he’s susceptible to double moves and blind-spot manipulation. Richardson also struggles to track and play the ball down the field, which can allow big plays to go through unobstructed for opposing offenses.
In the immediate timeline, Richardson has enough matching awareness, technical versatility, range in recovery, and support utility to be a rotational boundary corner in the NFL, and he could take starting reps sooner rather than later. At his ceiling — if he can reach that point — Richardson has impact starter potential.
Cory Giddings, Bleacher Report
Position rank: 24th
Round projection: 5th
POSITIVES
— Great length for a NFL cornerback.
— Plays with good vision and awareness when playing in zone coverage.
— Great top-end speed once he gets going. Has the ability to run with nearly all of the receivers he will match up against.
NEGATIVES
— Plays with high pad level at times.
— Lacks the desired short-area quickness.
— Average breaking ability. Has below-average burst out of his breaks. Slow to close ground.
— Allows separation at the top of routes. Inconsistent with contesting catches.
RELATED: Scouting reports for Raiders UDFAs
