Last season, the Las Vegas Raiders saw a noticeable jump in their second-year cornerback Jakorian Bennett. His rookie year went how you would expect. But his sophomore season was far from a slump.
In 2024, Bennett made impressions that showed he was ready to be a starter. His preseason shocked everyone, as he was making big-time play after big-time play, and he carried that into the regular season. That is until he got hurt and was done for the year. Going into 2025, the Raiders are set to have Bennett, Jack Jones, and other depth corners back. And, while he is a free agent, Nate Hobbs could be back as well.
Despite drafting two cornerbacks last year, they still have a need for the position. And, it could be a position that they target early in the 2025 NFL Draft, especially after seeing some of the 2025 NFL Combine results. One guy stood out a ton for where he may be available and where the Raiders may pick a corner. And, his fit is perfect.
In fact, the Raiders should think about targeting him on Day 2 of the 2025 NFL Draft if he is there at pick No. 37.
Raiders should target Kentucky CB Maxwell Hairston
At Kentucky, Hairston broke out in 2023 as a starter, grabbing five interceptions—two for touchdowns against Vanderbilt—in 13 games, along with 67 tackles, earning Second-Team All-SEC. In 2024, a shoulder injury limited him to seven games, but he still had a pick-six against Ohio and made Second-Team All-SEC again. He finished college with three career pick-sixes, tying a Kentucky record. It’s safe to say he has that “ballhawk” tag to his game.
Hairston entered the 2025 NFL Draft, where he’s expected to go in the second or third round, which may be when the Raiders start thinking about taking a corner. Of course, this class is deep so they could always wait till Day 3 to do that.
At 5’11,” 186 pounds, he’s fast, with a 4.29-second 40-yard dash at the 2025 NFL Combine, and athletic, with a 39.5-inch vertical. His speed and playmaking are the biggest things that seem to be what will translate to the NFL easily. But his thin build and tackling after the injury are concerns. With some added muscle, he could be a solid nickel or outside corner in the NFL. But, his athletic ability gives him potential that could change the future of their defense.
In Patrick Graham and Pete Carroll’s defense, they will run a lot of man-to-man with safety help over the top, as well as some variations of cover three. We know what Graham’s defense is because we have seen it over the last few years. But Carroll’s, or the one he last ran with the Seattle Seahawks, will be a bit new, and how they mix the two systems will be interesting to see as well. But, Hairston fits the mold for both. But, he is much better in zone, with some potential to be great in man-to-man.
The defense the Raiders will run will likely depend on outside corners to win one-on-one matchups with speed and physicality, and playing cover three or cover one will help deny the middle areas of the field. Playing on the boundary is what Hairston would do, and he has the ability to play man-to-man and is great at breaking on the ball when the play is in front of him.
According to Sports Info Solutions, Maxwell played 90 total snaps where he was either playing man-to-man, cover two, or cover three. In those 90 snaps, he allowed eight completions on 14 targets, with 12 of those passes being catchable. He allowed 164 yards with one pass interference call against him, and 217 intended air yards.
His numbers are a bit all over the place, but the potential is there, and some of the numbers do favor his skillset. It’s the athletic ability that pops the most, and his ability to stick with defenders. And, he only played in seven games, so who’s to say he wouldn’t have played better as the season went on?
His game is much more suited for zone, which he would play in 2025 with the Raiders. Last year rookie CB Decamerion Richardson played the second most zone coverage snaps of any CB. That’s a similar role we could see Hairston in. So, he would definitely play some zone.
Hairston is a guy whose ceiling is big. But, he could start slow in adjusting to the life of a cornerback in the NFL. We saw the same from Bennett, and look at him now.