After letting Nate Hobbs walk in free agency last offseason, nickelback was one of many weaknesses on the Las Vegas Raiders’ roster in 2025. With 2026 NFL free agency just around the corner, Las Vegas has a chance to improve the position by finding a defensive back who can cover the slot.
So, using Pro Football Focus’, The Athletic’s and NFL.com’s rankings, who are the Raiders’ top options on the open market at nickel?
Roger McCreary
PFF ranking: 103 overall (CB9)
The Athletic: 106 (CB9)
NFL.com: NR
McCreary’s coming off a weird season, beginning the campaign with the Tennessee Titans before getting traded to the Los Angeles Rams and suffering an injury shortly after arriving in Los Angeles. That led to the 2022 second-round pick recording a career-low 416 defensive snaps (including playoffs), but he was good when on the field, logging a 72.0 coverage grade and 68.6 run defense grade from PFF. That’s been the story of McCreary’s career, as he’s been a good nickelback option with his ability to contribute to both phases of the game.
Kader Kohou
PFF ranking: 188 (CB18)
The Athletic: NR
NFL.com: 79 (CB10)
The Raiders might be able to buy low on Kohou since he missed the entire 2025 campaign after suffering a partially torn ACL at the beginning of training camp. So, there is some risk involved with signing the 27-year-old (turns 28 in Novemember), but he was one of the most efficient slot corners in the league two years ago. Per PFF, Kohou’s 0.81 yards allowed per coverage snap in the slot ranked tied for fifth among corners with at least 101 coverage snaps on the inside.
Alontae Taylor
PFF ranking: NR
The Athletic: 18 (CB1)
NFL.com: 33 (CB3)
Taylor has bounced back and forth between covering the perimeter and the slot during his career, recording 1,597 career snaps at the former and 1,664 at the latter, per PFF. Not only would the Tennessee product bring versatility to Las Vegas, but he also has great ball skills with 52 career passes defended and mixes it up in the running game, collecting 21 tackles for loss. Additionally, Taylor can provide value as a blitzer, recording seven sacks and 10 quarterback hits over the last three seasons.
Greg Newsome II
PFF ranking: 221 (CB23)
The Athletic: 125 (CB12)
NFL.com: 75 (CB9)
To be fair, Newsome is more of an outside cornerback who can slide inside on passing downs. The problem is that he’s a subpar run defender, which calls his ability to be a full-time nickelback into question. But the 25-year-old (turns 26 in May) is young, has recorded nearly 1,200 snaps over the slot and 43 passes defended over five seasons. If the Raiders want to sign the former Cleveland Brown/Jacksonville Jaguar, defensive coordinator Rob Leonard could get creative by having Jeremy Chinn take the run downs at nickel while Newsome is on the perimeter and then slides inside in passing situations.
Cobie Durant
PFF ranking: 160 (CB16)
The Athletic: 118 (CB10)
NFL.com: NR
Along similar lines, Durant has primiarly been an outside corner during his career but does have nearly 700 snaps of exerience lining up over the slot. Physically, the 5-foot-10 defensive back profiles better on the inside and is a decent run defender to at least be an option at nickel. Additionally, he has good ball skills with 26 career passes defended and is coming off a campaign where he had three interceptions during the regular season and added three more during the playoffs.
Honorable mentions: Mike Hilton, Jonathan Jones, Josh Jobe
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