After spending the past two seasons on the East Coast, cornerback David Amerson headed west, joining the Oakland Raiders before their Week 3 matchup against the Cleveland Browns.
In the win, Amerson played 33 snaps and recorded 3 total tackles just days after being claimed via waivers from the Washington Redskins.
"The East Coast and West Coast are definitely different in a lot of ways, but I like it so far," said Amerson. "I definitely [like the] scenery; it's cool. I like the mountains and just how the cities are so close together. It's really cool."
Fast forward one week and the North Carolina State-product has now found himself engrained in the Raiders cornerback rotation, playing every defensive snap except two against Chicago and finishing the day with 7 total tackles, 1 very impressive pass defensed and 1 forced fumble.
"I think he did well," Head Coach Jack Del Rio said Monday when asked about Amerson's play. "Yeah, he's really picked up the system well. He's done a nice job coming in here and showing some of the skill that we thought he would have, and he's added to the group. He's had some sticky coverage and we think he's got a chance to help us."
"He's just a serious ballplayer," added defensive coordinator Ken Norton, Jr." He came here with a purpose. He wants to really get better. He had a very good week of practice. He made himself play. We didn't put him on the field. He put himself on the field by the way he prepared."
With TJ Carrie now being used primarily as a safety in the absence of Nate Allen, Amerson's coverage ability and physical attributes become all the more important for a Raiders secondary trying to get healthy.
"It's an adjustment you have to get used to quickly," Amerson said, talking about being thrust into a significant defensive role. "I know that they expected me to, so I didn't have a choice but to get adjusted to it."
Through the first quarter of the regular season, the youth movement in the Raiders secondary has been on full display, with Amerson, as well as DJ Hayden and Neiko Thorpe taking the majority of the defensive reps out wide.
Although he's just 23 years old, Amerson has the most pro experience of the trio, having 24 NFL starts under his belt.
"He's been a great addition," Hayden said. "They brought him in right away so he could play. It's really just me Neiko and Dave right now, so he's been a good addition. We were going to need some more corners because of Nate [Allen] going down and moving TJ [Carrie] to safety."
Through his first few weeks in Silver and Black, Amerson has been able to incrementally develop a better grasp of the Raiders defense, but he did admit to being surprised by one thing when he arrived in Oakland – the amount of talent the team had accumulated.
"I didn't know there was this much talent on the roster when I got here," Amerson explained. "There's definitely a lot of talent, so we can definitely do some good things."
