- Oakland Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio said this week that safety Obi Melifonwu should play his first NFL game Sunday against the Miami Dolphins. The 2017 second-round pick was placed on injured reserve in September after undergoing knee surgery.
- Melifonwu was PFF's third-ranked safety in this past year's NFL draft. He only played in one preseason game before going on IR, logging 22 snaps against Dallas and recording a 78.0 overall PFF grade.
- In 2016 at UConn, Melifonwu's 84.8 overall PFF grade ranked 15th out of 345 qualifying safeties. He only missed nine tackles in 116 attempts, the third-fewest missed tackles for any FBS safety with 100-plus attempts.
- Oakland needs help in the secondary, with safety Karl Joseph questionable for the Miami game. Melifonwu could also see work at cornerback, as David Amerson and Gareon Conley have been ruled out this week.
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