When the Las Vegas Raiders traded defensive end Yannick Ngakoue to the Indianapolis Colts for cornerback Rock Ya-Sin, it made clear that the Raiders were going to invest in improving their secondary heading into this season.
Ya-Sin figures to be a big part of that effort, having started 29 games on the outside for the Colts in the last three seasons.
It's such that, in the last year of his rookie contract, Ya-Sin is projected by NFL.com as a top-25 free agent for 2023.
Ya-Sin's toughness and ability to play press-man coverage were cited as the two qualities that could lead to a big debut season for him in Las Vegas.
Those qualities are sorely needed for a Raiders cornerback group that was plagued by injuries last season.
Granted, it comes with Ya-Sin not having a reputation as a big-time defensive playmaker, having only two career interceptions.
What Ya-Sin has done is improve his coverage numbers every season, leading to his best year in 2021.
Ya-Sin gave up only a 53.3 percent completion rate in coverage last season, limiting quarterbacks to a 88.8 rating.
It led to him receiving his highest grade yet from Pro Football Focus, ranking as their 29th-best cornerback last season.
Now with the motivation to prove he deserves a long-term deal, the ingredients for Ya-Sin to have his best season are there for the Raiders.
If he does, then he could end up being the face of the cornerback position for the Silver and Black.
The Raiders' other primary outside cornerbacks, Trayvon Mullen and Anthony Averett, are also on the last year of their contracts entering this season.
It will lead to a cornerback competition in training camp that will offer no guarantees, as everyone will be looking to show that he is the one who should stick around after this season.
Considering the Raiders made the effort to trade for him, that at least puts Ya-Sin in a position where the team believes he can be successful in their scheme.
The Raiders should hope he can, or they could be starting over completely at outside cornerback heading into next year's off-season.
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