Mississippi State Football's Decamerion Richardson raises the Raiders ceiling at cornerback

The first former Mississippi State football player is officially off the board in the 2024 NFL Draft. Cornerback Decamerion Richardson was taken by the Las Vegas Raiders in the 4th Round with the 112th overall pick.

Decamerion Richardson was expected by most draft experts to be the first Bulldog taken in this year's draft. That's because he possesses the highest ceiling of any Mississippi State player available.

At 6'2", 188 lbs, Richardson has fantastic size for a corner. He's not going to be completely overshadowed by outside wide receivers. Along with that size, Richardson has elite speed. He ran a 4.34 40-yard dash at the 2024 NFL Combine, which was the third fastest time of any corner in the draft.

When you have that size and that speed as a defensive back, you're going to be on the radar of NFL franchises.

So why didn't he go until the fourth round? Despite his athleticism, Richardson's production was lacking in college. He wasn't the lock-down player on the outside you'd have liked to see.

But when it comes to the draft, so much of getting taken comes down to your potential, and Decamerion Richardson has incredible potential.

Decamerion Richardson could develop into a true #1 corner for Las Vegas

Entering the draft, cornerback was viewed as one of the biggest need for the Raiders. Their secondary was actually solid in 2023, ranking 12 in total pass yards allowed and 11th in net pass yards per attempt allowed. But they don't have a true #1 in their CB room.

As mentioned, Decamerion Richardson needs some development. He's still incredibly raw as a player. But his ceiling is too high to ignore. For a Raiders team that is already decent at pass defense, it makes sense to take a player with a ceiling like Richardson's who they could develop.

And if Richardson can put the pieces together, he could turn into a legitimate lock-down corner in the league. Mississippi State has a good pedigree of corners currently in the NFL between Darius Slay, Martin Emerson, and Emmanuel Forbes. Will Richardson be the next star?