While much isn’t expected of seventh-round picks, the Las Vegas Raiders may have found themselves a good one in the 2024 NFL Draft by selecting Pittsburgh cornerback M.J. Devonshire.

Statistically, Devonshire has some pretty impressive ball production with 18 pass breakups and eight interceptions during his five college seasons, according to Pro Football Focus . Even better, those figures were primarily recorded over the last three years with 16 PBUs and all eight picks coming during that timeframe.

Granted, the former Panther appears to be a boom-or-bust type of player as he also surrendered 11 touchdowns, 10 coming during the last three seasons.

So, let’s flip on the tape and see what Devonshire can bring to the table.

We’ll start with a rep that’s a bit of a mixed bag.

It looks like Pittsburgh is running a two-deep/four-under fire zone coverage. Devonshire does a good job of squeezing his man toward the sideline and taking away the go route, helping to force Drake Maye out of the pocket as the pressure starts to get there. That’s a great job by the cornerback up until the scramble drill.

One thing he needs to work on is having better eye discipline as he gets caught staring in the backfield and doesn’t recognize that the wideout is working back to the quarterback. Devonshire does look back at his man at one point but it’s too late. Also, his change of direction skills are sub-par as he takes a while to get in and out of his break, preventing him from driving on the route to contest the catch.

So, this was good initial coverage but the finish could use some work.

Don’t get me wrong, this next play isn’t going on the highlight reel but it’s technically sound rep from Devonshire.

This time, the Panthers bring one more blitzer and run a three-deep/two-under fire zone where the cornerbacks and weak safeties are essentially just playing Cover 3. The outside receiver attacks Devonshire’s leverage off the line of scrimmage and Devonshire does a good job of staying outside of the receiver without drifting too wide.

That allows him to force the receiver running a post route into the post safety, effectively using his help/teammates in coverage. Also, the corner is smart to try and undercut the route because he has help over the top and can potentially make a play on the ball.

There isn’t much room to complete this pass and the wideout gets alligator arms because he sees the safety coming, so the pass falls harmlessly incomplete.

Something that stands out about the seventh-round pick’s game is he’s good in press coverage and is effective at jamming wide receivers despite being on the smaller side at just under 5-foot-11 and 186 pounds.

Here, he goes with a one-handed jam at the line of scrimmage and lands it right on the receiver’s outside shoulder. He continues to ride the receiver toward the sideline and stays in phase on the go route, leaving no room for Maye to complete this pass.

With the pressure coming, the ball has to be thrown out of bounds, resulting in a win for the defense on third and long.

Devonshire doesn’t jam the wideout on this play but does line up on the line of scrimmage in press coverage. Post-snap, he does a good job of maintaining his outside leverage when the wideout initially works wide before releasing inside on the vertical route.

Then, the cornerback flips his hips and uses his hands to help ride the receiver’s hip on the vertical route. That also helps Devonshire stay attached to his man on the scramble drill, unlike what we saw before, as he can feel the receiver start to break and work back toward the quarterback.

Now, he does get away with a hold toward the end of the rep, but I’ll take a corner who toes the line and forces the refs to call it in this situation. It’s third and long so if the receiver is open, it’s going to be a first down anyway so the 10-yard penalty (college rules) is better than a 30-yard gain.

We’ll end with another strong rep in press coverage but this time with a PBU to cap the play off.

Devonshire is playing man-to-man and communicates with his teammates pre-snap as Florida State motions into a stacked formation, shifting his assignment to the receiver who was initially lined up in the slot. Again, he does a good job of using his hands to stay in phase and ride the receiver’s hip on the post route.

Once the ball is in the air, Devonshire uses his 38.5-inch vertical to go up and contest the catch while swatting it away for an incompletion. That’s a big play because instead of the Seminoles having first and 10 on the other side of the 50, it’s third and long deep in their territory.