Oakland Raiders Camp Battle: Cornerback

The Oakland Raiders ranked 27th in the league in pass defense in 2011 and gave up 251.4 yards per game through the air. The Raiders had one of the worst secondaries in all of football and repeatedly collapsed late in games. Losses against Buffalo, Detroit and San Diego can be directly attributed to the weakness of the secondary.

Particularly weak was the cornerback position, as the team recorded only five interceptions from this position. General manager Reggie McKenzie immediately came in and made changes by releasing Stanford Routt and Chris Johnson and not re-signing Lito Sheppard and Joe Porter.

With so little depth or quality options, McKenzie brought in Ron Bartell, Shawntae Spencer, Pat Lee and Brandon Underwood to solidify the position. The competition is expected to get heated with at least three positions up for grabs. The new scheme means there will be plenty of opportunities for players to impress the new regime during training camp. 

Let's take a look at how each cornerback fits into the competition.

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