Film Study: Raiders CB Darien Porter

What type of defender are the Raiders getting in Porter? Let’s dive into the film to find out. 

For this exercise, we will watch Porter’s game against Iowa, known as the ‘CyHawk’ rivalry.

This is one of a few film study articles we have done. You can read our Ashton Jeanty and Jack Bech reports by clicking the links. 

Porter was excellent against the Hawkeyes, which was obvious in the film. The one thing that stands out about Porter’s game is his quickness. 

Porter is fast, but he is also quick-twitched. He can quickly flip his hips and cover ground when making a play from across the field. 

He recorded one of his three interceptions in this game. In the second quarter, with Iowa leading 10-0, Cade McNamara tried a play-action fake, rolled right, and threw back across his body to the left to Luke Lachey. 

During this sequence, Porter bit on the initial play-fake but quickly recovered downfield to jump in front of the poor decision by McNamara. He covered lots of ground in a short amount of time, part of what made him such an appealing draft prospect. 

Porter spent many plays cleaning up his teammates’ mistakes. If a defensive back gave up an open catch to a Hawkeye receiver, Porter would recover to make the tackle. 

While Porter is a good run defender, his slim and long midsection may be an issue at the next level. He could struggle to get off blocks and make plays in the run game because of his thin frame, so he must bulk up before his rookie season begins. 

The Raiders got one of the best cornerbacks in the draft with Porter. He adds to a young cornerback room that needs leadership and direction. 

Can he provide that for the Silver and Black? The tape shows that he can.

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