East Marion alum Johnathan Abram is hard at work preparing for his fourth season as a safety for the Las Vegas Raiders, a season in which he will take on the challenge of proving his worth as an NFL starter and earning a second contract as his rookie deal comes to a close.
Abram has served as the Raiders' starting strong safety for the past two seasons. Through 28 games started, he's racked up 207 total tackles, 125 solo tackles, eight tackles for loss, seven quarterback hits, three interceptions and a pair of fumble recoveries. Over that span, the Raiders have posted an overall record of 18-15 and made one playoff appearance, in which they fell to the AFC Champion Cincinatti Bengals in the Wild Card round last season.
Although the Raiders elected not to pick up his fifth-year contract option, Abram told reporters that he wasn't discouraged by the fact. His mindset hasn't wavered, and he plans to approach the 2022 season with the same mentality and work ethic as he approached the previous three.
"I just show up to work every day," Abram said during a July 6 interview. "I don't think about any of that. I just show up to work every single day just to get better. That’s about it."
His new head coach doesn't seem worried about Abram's ability to prove himself, either. Josh McDaniels, who spent 18 seasons working under Bill Belichick for the New England Patriots and was hired as head coach of the Raiders in January, recently said he sees nothing in front of his young defensive secondary but an opportunity to capitalize on.
"Players that are young usually have their best football in front of them. There’s no doubt about that," McDaniels said recently. "They develop, they have an opportunity to grow, they’re all eager, and they’re all competing to try to earn opportunities. And I think that’s a really good thing. We have some different skill sets. We have some guys with maybe a little bit more speed or more size, so it gives us some flexibility. But I think that all of them are really eager to try to learn and they’re learning how to communicate and talk with each other, which is important.
"I love the group, love the way they work and (I'm) eager to watch them continue to develop and grow and then go into training camp and let them just battle it out and compete. However it turns out, they’ll be the ones who determine that."
Not only will Abram be under the direction of a new head coach, but he and his teammates will also be working with their third defensive coordinator over the past four years. Abram said the process of rebuilding chemistry and relationships with the staff is an ongoing challenge, but it isn't anything they can't conquer with time.
"I mean, it's a lot of carry-over once you learn the concepts of, you know, four under, three-deep or five under, three-deep," Abram said. "Just things like that. But, you know, got to learn the terminology all over again. So, you know, just taking it day by day."
He is, however, thrilled for the opportunity to work under the direction of new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, who spent the past two seasons with the New York Giants and ran the Miami Dolphins' defense in 2019.
"He's the glue. He brings us all together," Abram said. "At the end of day, his one job is to make sure he puts us all in the best position and to get us going every single day, even when we don't have the juice. So far, he's done that. And I look forward to seeing him to continue to do that throughout the season."
Abram recently hosted his second annual youth football camp at Columbia High School. Through his foundation, Johnathan's Journey for the Better, he also recently built beds to donate to families in need. But with NFL training camp right around the corner, Abram's full attention has returned to the gridiron, where he and his teammates look forward to putting all the talk behind them and letting their performance speak for itself.
"I'm beyond excited," Abram said during last month's camp at Gardner Stadium. "We've got a new staff, a new general manager, and we're learning a new defense and starting fresh all over again. I can't wait to get out there and show everybody what I can do."
