While there isn’t much room for optimism when it comes to the 2-9 Las Vegas Raiders, especially after the Week 12 24-10 loss to the Cleveland Browns, cornerback Eric Stokes has been one of the few bright spots on the Raiders’ roster.
According to Pro Football Focus, Stokes has surrendered just 203 yards in coverage this season, which is tied for 11th among all cornerbacks with at least 240 coverage snaps. On Sunday, the Browns targeted him twice and both passes fell for incompletions, marking the third
game that the free-agent signing gave up zero yards this season. That resulted in his highest PFF coverage grade of the campaign (74.4).
Since the Raiders’ goal for the rest of this season should be figuring out which players should be part of the team’s future plans, let’s check out the tape of the 26-year-old (turns 27 in March) impending free agent’s performance against Cleveland.
We’ll start by looking at both times Stokes was targeted, and there’s a common theme in the two of them.
It’s third and 16 where the Raiders show a two-high coverage or Cover 4 pre-snap before rolling Cover 3 post-snap. Given the down and distance, Stokes is playing off coverage and does a good job of staying on top of wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, who is running a go route. As a result, Jeudy doesn’t think he’s going to get the ball and gives up on the play by jogging at the top of the route.
However, quarterback Shedeur Sanders throws it to Jeudy anyway, and the pass falls well short of the intended target. So, while Stokes does a good job of cutting off Jeudy’s route, this is really more about the veteran corner taking advantage of the situation and a rookie quarterback forcing the ball down the field.
Here, it’s a similar situation where Cleveland is behind the sticks in third and forever, while Las Vegas has its cornerbacks in off coverage for a three-deep zone. Granted, the defense’s play call is slightly different since they’re running a five-man pressure with the fire zone call to help speed up Sanders’ internal clock.
Meanwhile, the cornerback and wide receiver play is almost the same as the last one, where Stokes stays on top of the vertical route and the receiver pulls up, likely expecting a back-shoulder throw. However, Sanders tries to throw over the top of the defender, putting the ball in a position where Stokes could and should come away with an interception, but the pass falls right between his hands.
While he doesn’t get thrown at, this was Stokes’ best rep of the game.
It’s third and long and the Raiders are in Cover 3 again, while the Browns are worried about the blitz and run max protection with the right tight end and running back staying in to pass protection, and the other tight end chip releases on the check down. That leaves Stokes on an island against an out-and-up route from Jeudy.
Sanders is looking to take advantage of the one-on-one opportunity in the boundary of the formation, but the corner does a good job of defending the double-move by opening his hips and using his hands to stay in phase against the receiver. That helps get the quarterback to check the ball down, allowing the defense to get off the field and force a punt.
It’s Cover 3 once again, but this was one of the few times that Cleveland threw the ball on first and 10, so Stokes plays a lot closer to the line of scrimmage. He does a good job of bailing post-snap and staying on top of Jeudy to avoid getting beaten over the top. But what makes this rep impressive from the defensive back is that he sinks his hips and is in a perfect position to defend the curl when Jeudy snaps off the route.
That, combined with getting some help from Devin White, takes the deep curl route away from Sanders and forces the quarterback into the checkdown for an incompletion.
Reps like this one are where I get weary of giving Stokes a contract extension, though.
Las Vegas runs a simulated pressure out of a double-A-gap look, where the two linebackers are walked up on the line of scrimmage to force the offensive line to account for them in the pass protection call. However, the backers drop into coverage as the defense runs quarters post-snap.
With Jeudy motioning to the other side of the formation and the other slot receiver on the wide side of the field chip blocking Maxx Crosby, the field safety (Lonnie Johnson Jr.) opens his hips to the passing strength. That leaves Stokes one-on-one and essentially turns it into a man coverage rep for him. The corner gets beaten by the dig route pretty badly; Sanders just bails out of the pocket before he can get to the backside of the read.
This happened a couple of times on Sunday, where Stokes lost the rep and just didn’t get targeted. Also, this clip is an example of why the numbers mentioned above might be slightly misleading when it comes to his performance this year. On the other side of the field, Kyu Blu Kelly trips over himself, leaving Jeudy wide open for what should have been an explosive play had the quarterback and wide receiver been on the same page.
Don’t get me wrong, Stokes is playing better than expected this season. But it’s hard to deny that he’s benefiting from playing on the other side of poor cornerback play, leading to fewer targets. That’s something to keep in mind as the offseason approaches.
