Raiders rookie safety Braxton McCoy earning coaches trust, expanded role
Tom Perry -- NBC Sports Las Vegas Raiders Reporter
In two games against his 'hometown' Los Angeles Chargers, San Diego native and Las Vegas Raiders rookie safety Braxton McCoy had had some of his best performances according to Pro Football Focus with a 95.0 PFF grade in the first matchup and a 99.5 grade in last week's loss to the Chargers.
But the friends and family in the stands weren't the motivating factor for McCoy in his first game back in the city of Los Angeles, where he starred for the Bruins. It was his worst performance of the season -- according to both Pro Football Focus and McCoy himself -- the previous week that fueled McCoy.
"You're a competitor that wants to help your team win and I didn't necessarily do that last week," McCoy said of his 58 PFF grade against the Houston Texans as he struggled in coverage, allowing a touchdown to Brandin Cooks, in combination with his usual struggles against the run.
Even in the loss to the Chargers, the Raiders defense put up an inspiring effort against the Chargers high powered offense, holding Justin Herbert to 6.7 yards per completion and forcing him to take the underneath stuff. While McCoy was still primarily deployed as a deep safety, the Chargers moved him around a lot more than they had in previous week, playing him closer and closer to the line of scrimmage even when having deep third responsibilities.
Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham was asked after the game about McCoy's pre-snap placement in the Chargers game and whether it was game plan specific. While Graham didn't directly answer the question, it's clear that McCoy's role within the team is ever changing.
"As the season develops, you learn more about guys and what they do well. You try to get as much data in throughout the training camp to figure out what a guy does well or doesn't do as well and how it fits with the overall defense but ultimately, you learn more in the season as the games play out and you get more tape. That goes for everyone, not just [McCoy] but he's certainly someone who we're learning more and more about every day and everyone in he building is excited about his development."
McCoy primarily played nickel at Alabama where he won the Thorpe Award but with a cornerback room of Nate Wiggins, Nate Hobbs and Rock Ya-Sin, it was a bit crowded for McCoy to try to break through so he's been placed at free safety with varying results but on most days, it's a positive one, despite McCoy's tackling woes and having yet to make any big plays, something that doesn't elude McCoy.
"Obviously everyone loves the interceptions and the forced fumbles," McCoy told the media when asked about if he feels snubbed by not being mention in most Defensive Rookie of the Year conversations despite having a relatively high PFF grade for a rookie, "My role on the team isn't necessarily to go out and make those type of plays but I have to do a better job of seizing those opportunities when they do come."
McCoy wasn't thrown at the entire Chargers game but was near a few passes in the Houston game that had he broken on them sooner, he could have had a chance to bring them in. Seattle's Travis Hunter, the former number one overall pick, is the betting favorite to win the award as he leads all rookies with four interceptions.
i keep forgetting to save recent gameplay before jumping into the editor, i swear im not hiding me getting burnt lmao i jumped a crossing route and Woods got behind me for the TD up the seam
