Silver Minings: Johnathan Abram must show he isn’t a liability in coverage

Going into the year, 2021 was considered a crucial season for Las Vegas Raiders’ third-year starting safety Johnathan Abram.

The 2019 first-round pick was injured in Week 1 of his rookie season and missed the rest of the year with a shoulder injury. He struggled last year. Fixing Abram was a major goal for the new defensive coaching staff.

While Abram can be good near the line of scrimmage and he has improved his on-field discipline in 2021, there are still big issues, starting with his coverage ability. Abram was shredded Sunday night in a 41-14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. According to Pro Football Focus, he allowed nine receptions and two touchdowns on nine targets. Patrick Mahomes picked on Abram and won every time.

Abram is also having a difficult time finishing plays. Per PFF, he is among the safety leaders in missed tackles.

The Raiders are going to have to make a decision next offseason on whether to give Abram, No. 27 overall draft pick in 2019, his fifth-year option or let him hit free agency after the 2022 season. These flaws will help make the decision difficult.

In other Raiders’ links:

• NFL power rankings: Check out where the Raiders sit in Yahoo’s Week 11 power rankings.
• NFL playoff chase: SB Nation looks at how tight the entire NFL playoff race is.
• Bright spots: The Raiders’ website looks at the performances of receivers Hunter Renfrow and Bryan Edwards in the loss to the Chiefs on Sunday night.
• Third-down issues: The Raiders had much better success on third down when Jon Gruden was with the team.
• Ugly bookends: The Raiders struggle early and late in games. That’s not ideal.