Darien Porter acknowledges an advantage he has that almost every rookie lacks going into their first season
We have talked about it so many times by now, that former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, now the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, has a type when it comes to the players he drafts. And, that is specifically for receivers and defensive backs. For the cornerbacks he drafts, he likes big, […]
We have talked about it so many times by now, that former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, now the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, has a type when it comes to the players he drafts. And, that is specifically for receivers and defensive backs.
For the cornerbacks he drafts, he likes big, long corners that can make plays on the ball, and are versatile defenders. And, he likes them to be pretty fast, too. When you think of a Pete Carroll cornerback, think of guys like Richard Sherman, who was a wide receiver before the NFL and turned into a cornerback at Stanford.
So, from this 2025 NFL Draft class, think of Darien Porter, the Iowa State CB the Raiders took in the third round. He fits the criteria perfectly — even the wide receiver part, which he played in college before switching to CB.
“I mean changing positions after three years in college, after playing receiver for three seasons and then trying to pick up on corner, which I never really played before, I think that's about one of the hardest things you could do," Porter told reporters during rookie minicamp. "I think what separated me and allowed me to get to this point was how hard I worked at it. You know, obviously, my athleticism would help me a lot, but I didn't want to be the guy who had to rely on his athleticism. I wanted to be technical, and I wanted to know everything that I had to know.”
When you think about it, Porter really has an advantage that not very many rookies have, if any outside of Jacksonville Jaguars' Travis Hunter. He played wide receiver, so he knows exactly what the guys he's going to guard, are going to do.
"Taking that knowledge I learned from playing offense to the defensive side helps me pre-snap pick up on things that the offense might be doing. So, I definitely use that to my advantage as well," Porter said when asked how it helps him.
But, there are also some disadvantages. The good thing is that playing cornerback obviously comes naturally to him. You don't just play it one year and make it to the NFL without being a natural. However, there is still a lot he has to learn and perfect.
And he knows that.
“I think just getting comfortable with the technique," Porter said. "Like I said, I never really played the position, so I was kind of learning it as I was going but really emphasizing the techniques at cornerback. I took a lot of strides and I think I'm in a really good spot now, but continuing to learn more too.”
The Raiders took a flier on him, but the potential is there, along with the athletic ability as well. You don't see guys built like Porter, tall and fast, very often. And, he plays a position they desperately need. So, why not?
Darien Porter made it very clear that he isn’t just a pick for the Las Vegas Raiders’ future
He wants to play right now.
