Former Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch was known for his advice about taking care of your mentals. The basic interpretation of that is to not get too down on yourself and not get too comfortable. Because both states of mind can end a player’s career.
Basically, every NFL player has to simultaneously have the confidence that they can make it, but that they won’t if they don’t work harder than everyone else. That’s the approach that Raiders rookie cornerback Jakorian Bennett takes every day.
First you have to build your confidence and then keep it.
“Confidence has gotten way better,” Bennett said following Sunday’s practice. “But that’s a daily thing just kind of staying on top of that, because your brain is just a muscle just like everything else. You lift weights, so you’ve got to continue to keep your mental up as well through this long season. But yeah, confidence has been getting better, and I’m just trying to get better overall.”
The fourth round rookie took the long way to get to the NFL. He didn’t become a starter until his senior year in high school, causing him to have to go the Junior College route before playing two seasons at Maryland. Then he raced onto the NFL radar with a blazing 4.3 40-yard-dash at the scouting combine.
Bennett has a real shot with the Raiders being that they have just two established cornerbacks in Nate Hobbs and Marcus Peters. Picking off Jimmy Garoppolo last Friday should help his case for playing time. But he isn’t allowed to think that way. He has to wipe it away and start at square one every day. If not every play to prove to himself that he belongs.
“That’s an everyday thing,” said Bennett. “Anytime I make a play, it will just kind of do something to just have the vet saying, ‘Hey, good job, rook.’ That’s kind of the moments where like, ‘Dang, I really belong. Like I’m good enough.’ But yeah, that’s always motivation. For them to just kind of acknowledge the hard work I’m putting in and just the plays I’m making and stuff.”
There are resources at Bennett’s disposal to help him feel like he belongs. Most notably that of Marcus Peters, who has 32 interceptions in his career. Peters has made it clear that he’s “an open book,” and Bennett has taken full advantage.
“He just comes over and asks questions, and every question he’s got, if I don’t got the answer, we’re going to figure it out together,” Peters said of Bennett. “And then we get in the meeting room he sits right next to me and he’s still asking questions. And that’s how it goes, that’s how game is passed down most of the time. You don’t got to really say too much, just pay attention and lead by example and pay attention by example and you just start filling in your little information, add everything to his game and then it’s going to be him.”
Probably the most common issue that rookies face is the speed of the game when acclimating from college to the pros. Then they talk about the game slowing down for them at some point.
If Bennett would like an example of a day three cornerback who had early success, he needn’t go far. Nate Hobbs was an immediate starter for the Raiders in 2021 as a rookie fifth round pick. He picked the brains of veterans like Desmond Trufant and Casey Hayward. Bennett has Hobbs and Marcus Peters. So, the attitude and resources are there for early success.
