Jeremy Chinn, human Swiss-army knife

New Raiders safety spoke to the local media after inking his new contract

Safety Jeremy Chinn is the biggest addition the Las Vegas Raiders have made so far in free agency, inking a two-year, $16.3 million contract. Versatility is the most-significant reason why Chinn is a valuable acquisition for the Raiders.

According to Pro Football Focus, he’s logged over 1,600 career snaps in box, nearly 1,000 more at free safety and about 1,100 over the slot during his five NFL seasons. That should be a good fit in defensive coordinator Patrick Graham’s system, as Graham likes to deploy safeties all over the field.

But what is it that makes the former Washington Commander such a Swiss-army knife on the field?

“I would say probably just my skill set,” he replied during his introductory press conference in Las Vegas, “and I mean just being able to process a lot of different things throughout the defense, being able to play close to the line scrimmage and also being able to play deep and kind of understand what the defense is supposed to look like in different spots.

“…Personally, I love doing it. Being able to just present a different threat from lining up in different areas, it keeps me and the defense unpredictable.”

On top of that, the former Southern Illinois Saluki has been developing his versatile skillset since college. He logged 178 snaps in the box, 273 at free safety and another 199 in the slot, while earning a PFF run defense grade of 88.5 and an 82.5 mark in coverage during his final campaign in Carbondale.

In other words, making an impact on multiple levels of the defense and in both phases of the game is nothing new for him. That’s something he feels he’s shown in the NFL since his rookie season with the Carolina Panthers. “I mean, I think I showcased that [I can do it all] as soon as I stepped into the league, that I can play everywhere,” the safety said.

Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images

Chinn also mentioned that he’s had conversations with Graham already, but they haven’t extensively discussed what his role. However, the free agent addition has spoken more in-depth with head coach Pete Carroll, and Chinn seems to have an idea of which one of Carroll’s former players he’d like to emulate.

“I’m not going to share anything too specific,” Chinn replied when asked about what messages Carroll has shared with him, “but I mean just kind of my role, I guess, and how he saw that playing into this defense and in this scheme. When you look at his secondaries, just the kind of guys that he’s had, you think of Kam Chancellor and the ‘Legion of Boom’ and guys like that. So, I’m just excited to be a part of it.”

Chancellor stood at 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds and lined up all over the field when he patrolled the secondary for the Seattle Seahawks under Carroll. At 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds, Chinn carries a similar frame and shares a similar skill set as the four-time Pro Bowler.

So, the parallels between those two are easy to see, it’s just a matter of if the five-year veteran can live up to the comparison? We’ll find out this fall.