Las Vegas Raiders’ best draft sleeper pick: M.J. Devonshire, CB, Pitt

I first watched Devonshire’s tape before I landed in Indianapolis for the scouting combine, and he immediately impressed me as a very good man/match prospect all over the field. He might not be the most immediate closer and transition player in zone, but any team looking for a cornerback who can press and carry should have found Devonshire interesting.

Ultimately, the Raiders found him interesting enough to take him with the 229th pick in the seventh round, which constitutes a pretty decent steal. Last season for the Panthers, Devonshire allowed 25 catches on 55 targets for 435 yards, 142 yards after the catch, three touchdowns, four interceptions, five pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 60.3. The Raiders have struggled for years to put a competent cornerback group on the field, so perhaps between Devonshire and fourth-round pick Decamerion Richardson from Mississippi State, they can get a leg or two up on that process.

Devonshire certainly doesn’t lack for confidence, as he told me at the combine.

“I started playing football at three, and my motivation was… I saw Darrelle Revis play, and Ty Law play, and the first position I learned was wide receiver. So, that one-on-one was instilled in my mind before I knew what the linemen did, and what the quarterback did, and the linebackers and safeties. I just picked my side as a cornerback, and I said, ‘I want to be the villain on this. I want to take guys out of the game.’ I would see how upset guys like Chad Ochocinco would be when Darrelle was locking them up, and I was like, ‘I want to be the guy who gives somebody that feeling.’ It takes confidence, and it takes a long time to get that confidence, but once you get it, it can be pretty good.”

Story originally appeared on Touchdown Wire