Raiders’ Johnathan Abram a ‘Hard Knocks’ breakout candidate

NAPA, Calif. — “Hard Knocks” categorizes itself as a documentary series.

Its purpose is not to fabricate storylines, to embellish or transfigure facts. The HBO series’ stated mission, here before the program’s 14th season debuts Tuesday, is to capture the Raiders as they are.

“We really focus on the cinéma vérité aspect of this show,” said Ken Rodgers, the showrunner at NFL Films. “We’re not making subjective viewpoints. We’re very careful with our narration and how we present things.”

In that case, expect a lot of rookie Johnathan Abram.

Given the focus “Hard Knocks” places on reality, it’d be odd for Abram not to command sufficient airtime Tuesday and splash onto the HBO scene. The Raiders drafted the starting safety in April with the No. 27 overall pick. Since then, he hasn’t been one to stand discreetly in the background.

Defensive backs coach Jim O’Neil called what the 22-year-old Abram has done “really rare in today’s society and in this league.”

“You get a lot of lead-by-example guys,” O’Neil said. “He’s a follow-me-or-else guy. He’s an alpha dog. It’s my 10th year in the league. I’ve coached a lot of high draft picks. I’ve never seen a guy come in as a rookie and take control of the room.

“I told him we drafted him to help change the culture, not become the culture, and he’s done a great job of that. And that’s all the stuff outside of football.”

A 32-person NFL Films crew has shot video and recorded audio of every practice and other team functions in or around the Raiders’ summer headquarters at the Napa Valley Marriott. That has made Abram easy to spot.

If a teammate is not running to the ball, O’Neil said, Abram is seen pointing it out.

If a teammate misses a responsibility on a play, the man wearing the franchise’s iconic No. 24 jersey is heard.

“And he’s a rookie doing that,” O’Neil said. “There’s a lot of 8-, 10-year vets that aren’t calling out (teammates). The thing that’s unique about our defense right now is we’ve got two guys like that in the room — (linebacker) Vontaze (Burfict) and John as a rookie — who are really holding the group accountable. And the best defenses I’ve been on have had that element to them.

“In the (defensive backs) room, … he asks great questions. He asks questions like a fourth- or fifth-year veteran. It’s not just the basics of the defense. He wants to know how teams are attacking, why is (defensive coordinator) Paul (Guenther) calling this defense in this situation, how can I put myself in position to make plays.”

As with all athletes, there is a human element to Abram’s story.

Viewers could be introduced to his wife Bri’Anna and daughter Harlee. Abram has been public about their family dynamic, how he and Bri’Anna lost Harlee’s twin sister during the pregnancy. He has championed the Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome Foundation. Earlier this offseason, he said his 2-year-old daughter “helped me gain another sense of purpose for what makes me tick and get up in the morning.”

“I do a lot of things because I want to give her some opportunities and experiences that I didn’t have growing up,” Abram said.

There figures to be plenty of quarterback Derek Carr and wide receiver Antonio Brown, who has missed substantial practice time because of blistered feet. There might be an early montage portraying how the Raiders’ mystique infuses with wine country, an ironic summer marriage since 1996.

To capture the Raiders is to capture how they embrace their history and alumni.

The club paid tribute to legendary wide receiver Cliff Branch, who died Saturday. Coach Jon Gruden held a moment of silence in a team meeting that evening and showed players clips of Branch’s game footage. Several coaches and players then wore No. 21 to practice the next day. Honoring Branch could make for a tasteful episode ending.

Certain elements about the Raiders cannot be ignored in a proper documentary.

Abram’s presence is one of them.

“Football-wise, he’s very intelligent,” O’Neil said. “It’s all ball, all the time. And we haven’t even seen what he does yet, which is tackling, block protection, the blitzing at full speed. I think he’s going to be a really fun player to watch on Sundays.”

And Tuesdays.

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Contact reporter Michael Gehlken at mgehlken@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GehlkenNFL on Twitter.