David Amerson was dominant in the Oakland Raiders victory over the Tennessee Titans. Amerson was targeted 11 times by Marcus Mariota, but allowed just four receptions for 38 yards while deflecting five passes. The performance was enough for him to earn a 97.9 grade from ProFootballFocus, the highest mark of any player. Strong performances from Amerson have been a regular occurrence since he was claimed off of waivers by the Raiders in September of 2015 — with each passing week it becomes more and more apparent that he deserves to be considered among the league’s best corners. However, Amerson’s journey to becoming the player he is today has had its share of interesting highs and lows.
David Amerson’s Strange Journey to Becoming an Elite Corner
The trend of polarity in Amerson’s career predates his time in the NFL. After moderate recruiting buzz and a relatively quiet freshman season at NC State, Amerson exploded on to the national scene as a sophomore in 2011 with a nation-leading 13 interceptions. The mark set new school and conference records, and is the second highest single season total in NCAA history. For his performance, Amerson was awarded the Jack Tatum Trophy as the nation’s best defensive back — a Raider connection that provides an interesting bit of foreshadowing to his narrative.
Heading into his junior campaign in 2012, Amerson sat near the top of many draft boards and was projected by some to be a top ten NFL prospect. After a strong start to the year with three interceptions in the first four games, Amerson’s season and draft stock took an abrupt turn. His star began to fall as quickly as it had risen; Amerson was beaten for four touchdowns in a 44-37 loss to the University of Miami in week five. While he was able to finish the season with a respectable five interceptions and 12 passes defended, weaknesses in Amerson’s game were exposed.
Despite the hit to his draft stock, Amerson still elected to forgo his senior season and enter the 2013 Draft. He was considered a classic boom-or-bust prospect: praised for his ball skills and impressive physical attributes but lauded for his weaknesses in the fundamentals of the position. Six other cornerbacks were chosen before Washington took Amerson in the second round, including the Raiders selection of D.J. Hayden with the 12th overall pick.
Amerson showed flashes of potential during his stint in Washington, (including a 45-yard pick six against the Raiders in his fourth career game) but quickly fell out of favor as the organization transitioned from Mike Shanahan’s regime to Jay Gruden’s — coincidentally, or perhaps karmically, two individuals with historical connections to the Raiders. On September 21, 2015, Amerson was waived by Washington; the culmination of the slide that began during his junior year in college.
For Amerson, being waived was a reality check. From the perspective of others in the game, however, it was a unique opportunity for an organization to attempt to hit on a low-risk, high-reward investment. After the transaction, Gruden prophesied about Amerson’s future:
His career is not over by a long shot. He’s going to go somewhere else and play and probably play well.
Gruden would soon be proved correct — Reggie McKenzie claimed Amerson the day after he was placed on waivers. The opportunity had been granted, but it was Amerson’s response to adversity that proved the most significant in the eventual success of the move.
Amerson arrived in Oakland with a renewed perspective on his approach. Late-night video game binges were quickly replaced with study time as he learned a new system. Almost overnight, Amerson was able to begin growing into his potential.
It became increasingly apparent that the marriage between the Raiders and Amerson was working as the year progressed. The simplicity of Ken Norton’s defensive scheme allowed Amerson to hone in on making technical improvements, and by season’s end, he was named the NFL’s most improved player by ProFootballFocus. Opposing quarterbacks posted a rating of just 62.7 against Amerson in 2015, down from a 140.2 in the season prior.
The Raiders rewarded Amerson with a four-year, $38 million contract extension in the offseason, which so far is shaping up to be a worthwhile investment. Amerson has been dominant in the early part of 2016, and at 25 years old, he could be a force for the duration of the contract and beyond.
The Amerson narrative fits nicely with the Oakland Raider ethos — while all teams experience some degree of success in turning castoffs into successes, the Raiders are perhaps the organization most prominently associated with these moves. Many Raider greats have had career paths reminiscent of Amerson — Jim Otto, Lester Hayes, Jim Plunkett — which makes his journey all the more endearing to Raider Nation.
