Matt Stopsky

This is really interesting for a few different reasons. Early in my scouting career, Dick Roach told our group that the ideal secondary would feature 1 FS and 4 CBs due to the ability to match up in man coverage vs pass. He described Shawn Springs as the ideal S/CB prototype who would play in the slot because he had enough to hold up vs the run but was a suffocating coverage player on the perimeter. As a player in the late 1990s, the Nickel or “Star” position was typically the best CB or the smartest defender due to the challenge of playing multiple roles. LeRoy Butler played that spot in Green Bay, James Hasty filled that role in KC and I watched a young Charles Woodson play there at times, but matchups dictated his alignment. Long story short, the “Star” is one of the most important positions on the field, and the emerging trend is taking the game back to how it started with A-plus players playing in the slot.

Raiders have signed S Treydan Stukes.