Oakland Raiders’ 2012 NFL Draft Wish List No. 10: CB Jamell Fleming

With the draft quickly approaching, Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie has done everything he can to fill the holes of the Oakland defense.  

Clearly, from McKenzie's actions, cornerback was a big hole. In the past two seasons, the Raiders have let former starters Nnamdi Asomugha, Stanford Routt and Chris Johnson walk.

To fill those holes, McKenzie went out and signed Ron Bartell and Shawntae Spencer to short-term deals.  Many expect these signings to be temporary band-aids while the younger Demarcus Van Dyke and Chimdi Chekwa develop.  

Both Van Dyke and Chekwa can be great cornerbacks, I believe this next cornerback I'm going to introduce can be even better.  

Jamell Fleming from Oklahoma is a prospect who is exceptional when he's on, but still pretty darn good when he isn't. At the NFL Scouting Combine, Fleming officially timed a 4.53 40, but he looked must faster than that. Unofficially, he was clocked at 4.43. In addition to a solid 40-yard dash, the 5'11", 206-pound Fleming was second among cornerbacks in the bench press, at 23 reps. 

But what exactly does all of this tell you? Well, without looking at the game tape, you can tell that Fleming should be a strong, physical corner who can match up against some of the bigger and more physical receivers in the league.

Now, if you do watch the game tape, Fleming satisfies everything that I went over—he is strong and physical, and has good ball skills. Against Texas A&M, Fleming faced off against the 6'4" and 220-pound Jeff Fuller. He was held to six catches for 54 yards. 



Against a very productive Marvin McNutt, Fleming shined in the Insight Bowl by holding the 6'4" receiver to less than 50 yards on four receptions. In that game versus Iowa, Fleming showed his terrific ball skills by breaking up passes left and right, as well as recording an interception.

But sure, it's easy to sit back...

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