Las Vegas Raiders second-year cornerback Nate Hobbs is coming back with something to prove this season.
After starting the first four games of his rookie campaign, he would be limited throughout the rest of the season with injuries. Bennett’s fellow teammate in the secondary, Nate Hobbs, is high on what he can do for the Silver and Black this year as he enters a fresh start going into his second season.
“I don’t like how the media, even some of you guys, y’all attack JB, and I’m going to say right now that JB’s going to be pivotal for us,” Hobbs recently said at training camp. “And I really don’t want to see you guys attacking him like you are. He’s a great player, young, but he has a drive that you don’t see in people today. So, great player, great man, also. I feel like he’s going to be very pivotal for us.”
While that setback last year can be depleting for a rookie who had earned a starting job for himself in camp, Bennett still remained confident in his abilities.
“I wouldn’t say that I lost my confidence,” Bennett said at training camp. “At the end of the day, I know who I am, and I know what I can do. Things happen, you learn from them and that’s what I’m doing. So, I’m going to continue to get better each and every day.”
With Hobbs and Jack Jones likely to retain their starting jobs, it seems the third cornerback spot is Bennett’s for the taking.
“Honestly, I ain’t really trying to show anybody anything,” Bennett said. “Because my teammates know what I can do, they know who I am, they see the work I put in and they believe in me and i believe in myself. So, I feel like, at the end of the day, your teammates believe in you, why you can’t believe in yourself?”
Bennett played in 14 games last season, making four starts. He totaled 32 tackles and three passes defensed.
The Raiders selected Bennett in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
