Late Round Stud of the Week: Raiders CB Amik Robertson

Every football fan loves to tout the late round pick that's a star for their team. There's something about the mystique of a player that went underdrafted and finds a way to dominate at the next level. Tom Brady (6th rounder), Richard Sherman (5th rounder), and Adam Thielen (Undrafted) are all examples of late round guys that have become franchise icons for their teams.

These players have to earn everything they get when they transition to the next level. Fighting for a roster spot, earning their keep on special teams, and eventually earning starters minutes; guys on Day 3 have a tough road but an awesome opportunity.

In this series I'm gonna break down a few of my favorite late round guys who I think have an awesome chance at the next level to become fan favorites. We're getting started with one of the guys I obsessed over in this draft, LA Tech CB Amik Robertson.

Big Time Player in a Small Package

Guys. This dude's highlight film is so nasty I didn't want my wife to walk in on me watching it.

He hits like a guy twice his size, has incredible balls skills, and elite short area quickness. If he was 3 inches taller than his diminutive 5'9'' stature, he would've been a lock first round pick.

But he plays much bigger than that size. For a guy of his size, LA Tech still played him on the outside. You'd assume then that the best way to get at him is to pick on his small size with bigger, contested receivers. Well according to Pro Football Focus, "There wasn’t a higher-graded cornerback on contested balls than Robertson the past two seasons — he allowed only nine catches on 38 targets with 24 forced incompletions."

Now I get he's not exactly lining up across from Calvin Johnson every week at LA Tech, but that stat is still ridiculous.

Robertson is likely a slot defender in the NFL due to his size, but his toughness and short area quickness make him a perfect nickel defender. He can cover shifty slot receivers, get physical in the run game, blitz at an elite level, and has proven the ability to play big against taller receivers and tight ends looking to take advantage of his stature.

Amik Robertson is an alpha dog, a grinder, and a quintessential Gruden-style football player. He now lands with the Las Vegas Raiders, a team that needed to revamp their secondary. They have a similar player to Amik in veteran slot defender and former Seminole great Lamarcus Joyner, who I compared Amik to pre-draft. Joyner is a perfect mentor for Robertson, and Joyner's guaranteed money is up after the 2020 season.

I think the Raiders can afford to slow play and rotate in Robertson to start the season with Joyner holding down the spot in front of him, but it wouldn't surprise me if the rookie is playing more meaningful minutes by season's end. Joyner then becomes a valuable trade piece, or potential cap casualty after this season as Robertson takes his place.

He's a guy that will be a fan favorite for Raiders fans, and I can't wait to watch him wreck havoc all over the AFC West.