Rookie Risers

Mullen, Johnson earning opportunity

The final six weeks of the regular season will determine whether or not the Raiders are good enough to make the playoffs. It could also help shape the futures of rookie cornerbacks Trayvon Mullen and Isaiah Johnson.

The two spent the first two months trying to figure out their place on the roster. Mullen played primarily special teams while Johnson was working his way back from a concussion and broken bone in his face that he suffered after getting kneed by a teammate during Oakland’s first preseason game.

Mullen was pressed into duty when the Raiders surprisingly traded former first-round pick Gareon Conley to the Houston Texans. Conley, in a unique twist, ended up getting beat for a long touchdown by Tyrell Williams when the two teams played a few days after the trade.

Johnson was cleared to come off injured reserve after eight games, then made his regular season debut against the Chargers where he was on the field for one defensive play — the last play of the game when Los Angeles quarterback Philip Rivers threw a game-ending interception.

“That was a crunch-time moment to go in but you don’t flinch. You just go,” Johnson said. “That’s just the mentality you have to have at corner. Whether good or bad, just keep going.”