Nate Hobbs (born June 24, 1999) is an American professional football cornerback for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and was selected by the Raiders in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL draft.[1]
College career
Hobbs was ranked as a three–star recruit by 247Sports.com coming out of high school.[2] He committed to Illinois on December 23, 2016.[3]
Professional career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 11+3⁄8 in (1.81 m) |
196 lb (89 kg) |
31+1⁄2 in (0.80 m) |
9+1⁄2 in (0.24 m) |
4.48 s | 1.58 s | 2.56 s | 4.17 s | 6.85 s | 40.5 in (1.03 m) |
11 ft 3 in (3.43 m) |
17 reps | |
| All values from Pro Day[4] | ||||||||||||
2021
The Las Vegas Raiders selected in the fifth round (167th overall) of the 2021 NFL Draft.[5] The Raiders obtained the 167th pick as a result of trading guard Gabe Jackson to the Seattle Seahawks.[6] He was the 24th cornerback drafted in 2021 and also became the first cornerback drafted from Illinois to play in the NFL since 2010. He notably became the first of five defensive backs drafted from the same Illinois' secondary spanning from 2018-2020. Fellow cornerback Kerby Joseph was drafted in 2022 with Devon Witherspoon, Quan Martin, and Sydney Brown following Hobbs and Joseph in 2023.[7]
On May 17, 2021, the Las Vegas Raiders signed Hobbs to a four–year, $3.78 million contract that includes an initial signing bonus of $303,052.[8]
Throughout training camp, he competed against Keisean Nixon and Amik Robertson to be a backup cornerback. Hobbs unexpectedly surpassed 2020 first–round pick Damon Arnette on the depth chart and was subsequently named as the third cornerback on the depth chart to begin the season, behind starting cornerbacks Casey Hayward and Trayvon Mullen.
On September 13, 2021, Hobbs started in his professional regular season debut and made two solo tackles 33-27 loss against the Philadelphia Eagles. In Week 6, he collected a season-high 11 combined tackles (six solo) during a 34–24 victory at the Denver Broncos. On December 5, 2021, Hobbs recorded nine combined tackles (four solo) and made his first cavreer interception on a pass thrown by Taylor Heinicke to wide receiver Terry McLaurin in the Raiders' 15–17 loss against the Washington Football Team. On December 20, 2021, the Las Vegas Raiders placed Hobbs on the reserve/COVID-19 list. On December 25, 2021, the Las Vegas Raiders activated Hobbs from the reserve/COVID-19 list. He finished his rookie season with a total of 74 combined tackles (51 solo), three pass deflections, one sack, and one interception in 16 games and nine starts.[9] He received an overall grade of 80.1 from Pro Football Focus and earned a coverage grade of 78.0.[10]
The Las Vegas Raiders finished the 2021 NFL season second in the AFC West with a 10–7 record and clinched a Wildcard spot. On January 15, 2022, Hobbs started in his first career playoff game and recorded eight combined tackles (three solo) and one pass deflection during a 19–26 loss at the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Wildcard Game.
2022
On January 31, 2022, the Las Vegas Raiders hired former New England Patriots' offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels as their new head coach. The Raiders' new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham named Hobbs and Rock Ya-Sin as the starting cornerbacks to begin the season.
In Week 2, he collected a season-high 11 combined tackles (nine solo) during a 23–29 loss against the Arizona Cardinals. On October 10, 2022, Hobbs made nine combined tackles (six solo) before exiting in the third quarter of a 29–30 loss at the Kansas City Chiefs due to an injury. On October 17, 2022, the Las Vegas Raiders officially placed Hobbs on injured reserve after he suffered a broken hand.[11] On December 3, 2022, the Las Vegas Raiders activated Hobbs from injured reserve after he missed six consecutive games (Weeks 6–12).[12] He finished the 2022 NFL season with 72 combined tackles (57 solo), four pass deflections, a forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and one sack in 11 games and 11 starts.[13] He received an overall grade of 60.9 from Pro Football Focus in 2022.[14]
2023
He returned as the No. 1 starting cornerback in 2023 and was paired with Marcus Peters. On September 10, 2023, Hobbs started in the Las Vegas Raiders' season-opener at the Denver Broncos and collected a season-high 12 combined tackles (eight solo) during a 17–16 win. He was sidelined for four consecutive games (Weeks 4–7) after injuring his ankle.[15] On October 31, 2023, the Las Vegas Raiders fired head coach Josh McDaniels after falling to a 3–5 record. Linebackers coach Antonio Pierce was appointed the interim head coach for the rest of the season. On November 5, 2023, he made seven combined tackles (three solo), a pass deflection, and intercepted a pass thrown by Tommy DeVito to wide receiver Darius Slayton as the Raiders defeated the New York Giants 30–6. He finished with 86 combined tackles (59 solo), seven pass deflections, one interception, and one sack in 13 games and 11 starts.[16] His overall grade for 2023 was 69.0 according to Pro Football Focus.[14]
2024
The Las Vegas Raiders' new head coach Antonio Pierce retained Hobbs as the No. 1 starting cornerback and pairs him with Jack Jones. In Week 6, he collected a season-high ten combined tackles (four solo) during a 13–32 loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers. On October 20, 2024, Hobbs recorded six solo tackles, one pass deflection, and intercepted a pass thrown by Matthew Stafford to wide receiver Tutu Atwell as the Raiders lost 15–20 at the Los Angeles Rams. In Week 9, he injured his ankle during a loss at the Cincinnati Bengals and subsequently missed the next four games (Weeks 11–14). He finished the 2024 NFL season with a total of 49 combined tackles (33 solo), five pass deflections, and one interception in 11 games and seven starts.[17] He received an overall grade of 61.4 from Pro Football Focus in 2024, which ranked 110th amongst 223 cornerbacks.
Personal life
On the morning of January 3, 2022, Hobbs was arrested for driving under the influence. He was found by the police asleep at the wheel of his car on a parking lot exit ramp.[18]
References
- ^ "2021 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
- ^ "Nate Hobbs Recruiting Profile". 247Sports.com. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
- ^ "Nate Hobbs 247". 247Sports.com. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
- ^ "Nate Hobbs, Illinois, CB, 2021 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved October 4, 2021.
- ^ "Illinois CB Nate Hobbs selected at No. 167 by the Raiders". Raiders.com. May 1, 2021. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
- ^ Harris, Blake (May 1, 2021). "Raiders add another defensive back with Nate Hobbs from Illinois". Silver and Black Pride. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
- ^ "Illinois Drafted Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
- ^ "Raiders sign fifth-round pick CB Nate Hobbs". Las Vegas Raiders. May 17, 2021. Retrieved December 26, 2024.
- ^ "Pro-Football-Reference: Nate Hobbs stats (2021)". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 15, 2025.
- ^ Bradley Locker (May 24, 2024). "Bounce-back candidates for all 32 NFL teams in 2024". PFF.com. Retrieved February 15, 2025.
- ^ Robinson, Sam (October 17, 2022). "Raiders Place CB Nate Hobbs On IR". Pro Football Rumors. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
- ^ "Raiders activate CB Nate Hobbs from injured reserve". Raiders.com. December 3, 2022. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
- ^ "Pro-Football-Reference: Nate Hobbs stats (2022)". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 15, 2025.
- ^ a b Austin Boyd (July 22, 2023). "PFF reveals 1 contract move Raiders need to make before training camp". justblogbaby.com. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
- ^ Case Keefer (October 27, 2023). "Cornerback comeback: Nate Hobbs' return could be big for Raiders". lasvegassun.com. Retrieved February 15, 2025.
- ^ "Pro-Football-Reference: Nate Hobbs stats (2023)". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 15, 2025.
- ^ "Pro-Football-Reference: Nate Hobbs stats (2024)". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 15, 2025.
- ^ Gutierrez, Paul (January 3, 2022). "Las Vegas Raiders CB Nate Hobbs arrested on DUI charge hours after win over Indianapolis Colts". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 13, 2023.