Another veteran cornerback has entered the chat.
Last week it was revealed that the Raiders would be working out veteran cornerback Marcus Peters on Monday. Well, Peters isn’t the only one getting a look. The Raiders are also giving veteran Troy Hill a workout.
The two cornerbacks are very familiar with each other. First in college as rivals in the Pac-12. Peters starred at Washington and was a first round pick in 2015. While Hill was at Oregon and went undrafted in the same year.
They later spent a season and a half together with the Rams in 2018-19.
Hill is a year and a half older (32 in August) than Peters (turned 30 in January) and has started about half (55) the games Peters has (103) in his career.
Peters laps Hill in terms of coverage numbers. Peters has 32 career interceptions and 92 career pass breakups compared to eight interceptions and 32 pass breakups for Hill.
Where Hill has Peters beat is versatility and tackling. Hill can play inside and outside and despite Peters’s considerable playing time advantage, the two have very similar tackle numbers over their respective careers.
In fact, over each player’s past five seasons, while Peters has more games played (73) and starts (72) than Hill (70/48), Hill has nearly 30 more tackles (270) than Peters (241). While still putting up a respectable eight interceptions and 28 pass breakups.
So, really, it depends on what the Raiders are looking for. And, honestly, with as weak as their cornerback group is, they could use both of them.
Currently the Raiders have just one surefire starter at cornerback in Nate Hobbs. They need three.
This offseason so far, the team has added the likes of Brandon Facyson, Duke Shelley, and David Long Jr. None of whom had more than five starts last season. While Hill started all 12 games in which he appeared and Peters started all 17.
After that there’s rookie fourth round pick Jakorian Bennett and returning depth players Tyler Hall, Sam Webb, and Amik Robertson as contenders for roster spots as well. That’s solid competition at camp.
Obviously, money is a factor for the Raiders. Hill would likely be cheaper than Peters. They can’t just sign anyone they want as there are cap constraints. But with some restructures and creative contract language, anything is possible.
