More season awards and lists are coming out each day. And the Raiders continue to be well-represented. The latest is Pro Football Focus's Most Improved Player award. That award goes to Raiders cornerback David Amerson.
Here is what they had to say about why they chose Amerson for the award:
Amerson was the Redskins' second-round pick in 2013, and saw the field in every game during his rookie season. He struggled with consistency throughout the year, and finished with a relatively low coverage grade, which placed him 92nd out of 110 cornerbacks. Last season his coverage grade dropped even further, and he slid all the way down to 106th at his position. Amerson was released after Week 1 this season, and was subsequently picked up by the Raiders, where he's been a completely different player ever since.
The former NC State standout posted a positive production grade in 2015, despite being targeted 104 times (sixth-most among NFL CBs). On those targets, he allowed just 58 completions and one touchdown. He tied for fifth overall with 13 passes defensed, and also picked off four passes. Last season, he allowed more completions (61) on fewer targets (91), and an NFL-high 10 touchdowns when targeted. Quarterbacks had a 140.2 rating when targeting Amerson in 2014; this season, that number has dropped to 62.7. His improvements have brought him up to an 83.4 overall grade, good for 15th out of all cornerbacks this season.
Must Reads
I named Amerson a Baller six times in his 14 games in Oakland in the 2015 season. He landed just behind All Pro Khalil Mack among the Raiders 2015 season Ballers.
Behind Amerson for PFF MIP were four 'Runner-up' players. Among those at third Runner-up was second-year quarterback Derek Carr. Here is what they had to say about Carr's progress from year one to year two:
Carr finished with our second-worst overall production grade last season. He's jumped all the way up to 10th this season, with an 81.6 overall grade. Carr has made improvements across the board, but the most obvious improvement was his higher efficiency when throwing the ball downfield. On 71 deep passes last season, Carr managed just 15 completions and two touchdowns. This seasonâon four fewer deep passes (67)âhe has 25 completions and an astounding 12 touchdowns.
To see all the Runner-ups on the PFF Most Improved Player, click here.
Loading comments...