Las Vegas Raiders third-year player just made a massive and unexpected jump at training camp on Day 1
The Las Vegas Raiders have a good problem on their hands, and now Decamerion Richardson has made himself a part of it.
Day 1 of the Las Vegas Raiders training camp kicked off on Wednesday, and surprisingly, the biggest storyline was not Fernando Mendoza. Well, okay, maybe that’s a stretch. However, there was something else taking over everyone’s attention: The cornerback room.
Starting with fifth-round rookie cornerback Hezekiah Masses. He was getting most of the first-team reps. Then, another guy caught our attention. Third-year cornerback Decamerion Richardson got his share of first-team reps. Now, that’s a big jump for Richardson. Sure, it’s Day 1, so take everything with a grain of salt. Sam Warren of The Athletic reported in his notebook recently that, among other players, Richardson got some snaps.
“An opportunity for [Jermod] McCoy to start, if healthy, looks available, as the Raiders rotated corners alongside Eric Stokes during the session. Darien Porter, Richardson, and fellow rookie Hezekiah Masses were the others to work with the first team. While McCoy isn’t there yet, Kubiak said they’re cognizant of easing him back into play; there’s a chance he joins the competition soon.” – Sam Warren, The Athletic
Richardson needs to have a big year in 2026
Last season, Richardson only played 217 total snaps, and only 13 of them were on defense. The rest of them were on special teams. Entering his third season, he hasn’t done much of anything.
And, that sounds harsh, but Richardson has dealt with injuries, been on some of the worst defenses we have seen in some time, and just been bad at times. In 2024 he played much more. Richardson slotted over 500 snaps defensively. He was targeted 42 times and allowed 28 catches for 407 yards and one TD, per Pro Football Focus.
If Richardson is getting reps with the ones at training camp, there’s only a few things that could mean. Either the Raiders are liking what they’re seeing from him, and he’s made a really big jump. Or, the room as a whole is so bad, and the competition is so open that he’s getting these reps.
We’re not really sure what to make of it yet, but surely the Raiders feel like they have a good problem. Surely they think they have a bunch of CBs who could be starters, or could fight for that spot. Training camp is going to be unbelievably fun to watch.