INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The Las Vegas Raiders ended the 2023 season with momentum.
They capitalized on that momentum by hiring Antonio Pierce as their full-time head coach. Pierce revitalized the Raiders when he took over in an interim role, parlaying a cultural turnaround into a permanent job.
The Raiders are looking to add a few more pieces to help them return to the postseason for the first time since the 2021-22 season. They may try to find those pieces through the 2024 NFL Draft.
The Raiders met with several prospects to learn about them off the field and see their athletic talents up close during the testing portion.
While Las Vegas has talent in their defensive backfield, having multiple players who can play more than one role can be beneficial when throwing different looks at offenses.
Utah defensive back Cole Bishop is one of those players. While he played a lot of safety for the Utes, he can also play Nickel cornerback and be utilized as a blitzer.
Bishop told me he has met with the Raiders informally. He spoke about what it would mean to be a member of the Silver and Black.
“It would be awesome,” he said. “They’re doing a lot of good things over there. Obviously, yeah, [Pierce] is pretty cool. They do a lot of good things on defense; they have a good history, so yeah, it would be pretty cool.”
Bishop feels his versatile skill set would fit well in the Raiders’ defense.
“I think that’s huge, being able to play a lot of different positions on the back end,” he said. Free, strong, sometimes Nickel, so being able to move around a lot would help out a lot.”
Bishop is not the only versatile Utah safety in this class. His former teammate, Sione Vaki, played safety and running back for the Utes and hopes to be selected in the draft. Bishop spoke highly of Vaki and what he could bring to a defense.
“He’s also super versatile,” he said. “This year, we just kind of didn’t play free or strong; we just kind of played sides, so being able to rotate back and forth was awesome. I mean, that’s my guy; we hang out every day pretty much off the field, so being able to play with him in college was awesome, and like I said, he’s a versatile guy, great athlete, he’s going to do a lot.”
Bishop was a Second-Team All-Pac 12 member in 2023 and finished his career with 197 total tackles, seven and a half sacks, and three interceptions.
If the Raiders add Bishop, they could show multiple looks defensively with defensive backs in many different spots, which could elevate them on that side of the ball.
The NFL Draft will be held in Detroit, Mich., on April 25-27, 2024. The Las Vegas Raiders currently hold the No. 13 overall pick.
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