Darien Porter isn't scared of doing for the Raiders what many have as a knock on his game
When the Las Vegas Raiders drafted Darien Porter in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft, they saw a vision that obviously no other team saw, or they'd have drafted him. When you look at the prospect that Porter is, he's unique — unlike any other in the draft, or really any draft. Darien […]
When the Las Vegas Raiders drafted Darien Porter in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft, they saw a vision that obviously no other team saw, or they'd have drafted him.
When you look at the prospect that Porter is, he's unique — unlike any other in the draft, or really any draft. Darien Porter, the cornerback from Iowa State, is 6'4", with extremely long arms, and speed that you don't often see at his size. He is one of those types of guys that has about as high of a RAS score, or Relative Athletic Score, as you can get.
So, you see his physical attributes, and you think, 'Okay, this guy has to be terrible in coverage, right? Why else would he fall to the third round?' Well, no, he was great, amazing actually, in coverage. Well, okay, he was amazing in zone coverage. He struggled at times in man coverage but was asked to do it far less than zone coverage.
That doesn't mean he isn't willing to do it for defensive coordinator Patrick Graham and former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll.
"At Iowa State, obviously, we played a multitude of different defenses, but mostly zone, but we did sprinkle in a good amount of man coverage," Porter said via Zoom after he was drafted.
"So, working with this staff and knowing what they've done in the past and the kind of defense they play, it doesn't scare me. I have no problem with going to a more man-heavy scheme and being the press corner with my length and my speed and my physical ability."
In 2024, Porter finished with a Pro Football Focus coverage grade of 90.1, and a zone coverage grade of 91.1, which is really, rreally good, allowing just five catches on 17 targets, for 70 yards with three interceptions to go along. He was locking up in zone coverage, and his length and speed made it easy for him to break on a player while sitting in a zone, as we saw time and time again.
As for his man coverage grade, Porter finished with a 63.5. And, let's face it, the Big 12 didn't have the best receivers in the world, outside of maybe the two best in the draft in Travis Hunter, who was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars, and Tetairoa McMillan, who was drafted by the Carolina Panthers. Porter struggled in press man, and the Raiders could ask him to do it quite a bit, at least more than he did at Iowa State.
The good thing is Porter is not afraid to play it, which means he's not afraid to fail. When you fail, you learn, at least, that is if you're a great player. Porter seems to be one that will learn very quickly. His potential is insane, and I think a coach like Pete Carroll is perfect for his development.
Las Vegas Raiders’ new wide receiver Dont’e Thornton is already showing an awareness trait that not every rookie has
The Raiders are banking on his development.
