Nate Hobbs
Nate Hobbs is an American professional football cornerback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League. He played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini and was selected by the Raiders in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL draft.
College career
Hobbs was ranked as a threestar recruit by 247Sports.com coming out of high school. He committed to Illinois on December 23, 2016.Professional career
Las Vegas Raiders
The Las Vegas Raiders selected in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL draft. The Raiders obtained the 167th pick as a result of trading guard Gabe Jackson to the Seattle Seahawks. 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 cornerbacks drafted from the same Illinois' secondary spanning from 2018 to 2020. Fellow cornerback Kerby Joseph was selected in 2022 with Devon Witherspoon, Quan Martin, and Sydney Brown following Hobbs and Joseph in 2023.2021
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.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 in a 33–27 OT win against the Baltimore Ravens. In Week 6, he had 11 total tackles during a 34–24 victory at the Denver Broncos. On December 5, 2021, Hobbs recorded nine combined tackles and made his first career 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, three pass deflections, one sack, and one interception in 16 games and nine starts. He received an overall grade of 80.1 from Pro Football Focus and earned a coverage grade of 78.0.
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 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 had 11 total tackles during a 23–29 loss against the Arizona Cardinals. On October 10, 2022, Hobbs made nine combined tackles 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. On December 3, 2022, the Las Vegas Raiders activated Hobbs from injured reserve after he missed six consecutive games. He finished the 2022 NFL season with 72 combined tackles, four pass deflections, a forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and one sack in 11 games and 11 starts. He received an overall grade of 60.9 from Pro Football Focus in 2022.