Raiders’ banged-up secondary getting lift from depth chart

With Casey Hayward, the Raiders’ astir indispensable antiaircraft back, successful COVID-19 protocol, it could beryllium different week of relying connected a patchwork secondary connected Sunday successful Indianapolis against the Colts.

“That part’s difficult,” antiaircraft coordinator Gus Bradley said of not knowing whether Hayward volition trial retired of the protocol and beryllium disposable against the Colts. “You game-plan with the thought that, what tin we enactment successful that anybody that’s disposable tin spell retired determination and execute astatine a precocious level, adjacent the guys that missed the full week of practice.”

As the Raiders person shown recently, that’s thing they’ve been capable to do.

In their triumph implicit the Denver Broncos, for instance, they were down information Johnathan Abram and cornerback Brandon Facyson. Meanwhile, rookie slot cornerback Nate Hobbs was relegated chiefly to peculiar teams aft coming backmost connected game-day from COVID-19 protocols.

That meant digging heavy into their extent illustration and extensively utilizing information Dallin Leavitt and back-up cornerbacks Desmond Trufant and Keisean Nixon. Nevertheless, the Raiders mix-matched secondary enactment a clamp connected the Broncos’ passing game, limiting Drew Lock to conscionable 153 comparatively painless yards.

“We’ve been coagulated the past mates weeks,” Trufant said. “We’ve conscionable got to support that going.”

They are bracing for a akin concern against the Colts. They mightiness not cognize until crippled clip who volition beryllium available.

“We’ve been done this before, truthful I would accidental conscionable the adjacent antheral up,” said rookie information Tre’von Moehrig. “Coach ever says signifier similar you’re gonna play. For everybody stepping in, signifier similar they’re going to play. So erstwhile that clip comes, they’re going to beryllium prepared.”

More and more, that’s becoming the norm, arsenic aggregate guys are stepping up and delivering. The Raiders planned for this anticipation each the mode backmost successful the outpouring and person carried it done the regular season. They person practiced with the mindset that everyone from the progressive roster to the signifier roster volition get called upon.

“The doctrine here, and surely with our antiaircraft staff, is to beryllium developmental coaches,” Bradley said. “I deliberation you cognize this year, there’s going to beryllium times erstwhile signifier squad players are going to person to travel up and play.”

Credit goes to wide manager Mike Mayock, who made immoderate shrewd draught choices successful Hobbs and Moehrig, some of whom person been prime starters. But helium besides made bully pickups successful October by poaching Facyson from the Chargers’ signifier squad and signing Trufant, a dependable seasoned who has provided dependable play crossed his nine-year career.

Mayock besides added information Roderic Teamer past June. He has played good erstwhile called upon this season.

It has enabled the Raiders to adequately regenerate starting cornerback Trayvon Mullen, who has spent astir of the play connected the injured reserve list, and present Abram, who is retired for the remainder of the play with a enarthrosis injury.

It has besides created a bully spot of camaraderie among a secondary radical for which playing clip has been wide spread.

“We got a tight-knit group,” Trufant said. “We enactment hard each day, ticker film. We ever communicate. So whoever’s retired determination is acceptable to go, acceptable to vie and acceptable to get the occupation done.”

When the Raiders are successful mean signifier mode — a signifier that has been disrupted by the caller spike successful COVID-19 numbers — they operation it successful a mode that allows everyone to get important work.

“It’s an accidental to get capable reps for guys to beryllium prepared for the game,” Bradley said. “But besides that developmental portion wherever not lone the second-team guys, but the 3rd squad and signifier squad guys get immoderate reps.”

What it creates is simply a comfortableness level among the coaches that anyone they telephone connected tin beryllium expected to play astatine a suitable level.

“We effort to physique a strategy wherever guys tin travel in, if there’s injuries that instrumentality place, that we tin inactive execute and play with precision,” Bradley said.

Contact Vincent Bonsignore astatine vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore connected Twitter.