Feb 27, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Iowa St defensive back Darien Porter (DB25) during the 2025 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tanner Pearson-Imagn Images Tanner Pearson-Imagn Images

Why Darien Porter is a Perfect Raiders Fit

Originally posted on Las Vegas Raiders on SI
By Fernando Alfaro-Donis | Last updated May 2, 2025 1:00 PM ET

The Las Vegas Raiders made it their priority to address their offensive struggles from last year through the draft. A perfect example of this is that last year, they had one of the most inefficient ground games in the NFL, and they remedied that by drafting Ashton Jeanty.

Other than Brock Bowers and Jakobi Meyers, their receiving group was subpar. They used their second-round pick on Jack Bech, a receiver who's not fast and adept at contested catches, but physical, and fits in line with the type of players the Raiders want to draft.

Out of their 11 draft picks, seven were used to address the offensive side of the ball. John Spytek made sure to surround Geno Smith with reliable weapons so that he could better support this Raiders team, accelerate their rebuild, and get them back into being competitive.

The first pick they used on a defensive player was in the third round when they selected Iowa State University cornerback Darien Porter. In 2024, he had 18 total tackles, defended against two passes, and intercepted three balls and returned them collectively for five yards.

Spytek recently took part in an interview with Carter Owen, a digital content associate for Raiders.com, in which he broke down the drafting strategy for the Raiders and talked about how the coaching staff all bought in on drafting Porter.

"Guys like him are cool because that to me, I think, shows the connection between the scouting staff and the coaching staff," Spytek said. "It's very easy to recognize that Darien Porter is an elite-level athlete.

From the testing numbers, the 4.31, to the vertical, which I think was around 40, to the shuttle times, which were elite. His size at almost 6'3, there's so much elite physical ability in his body, but he's not a full-time starter.

He's making a transition...When you have Coach Carroll and Joe Woods and 'PG' (Patrick Graham) and all of them say, 'We would love to work with this guy. This is who we're looking for.' As a scout, that really is empowering because it's like, OK, we can bring players like him to the staff and they're going to work with them and they can have a vision for them".

Porter is a part of the incoming defensive rookies alongside Tonka Hemingway, and he'll have the opportunity to shine in a cornerback room that isn't defined yet for the Raiders. His experience as a wide receiver in the past will help him match up against NFL wide receivers, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him snag a couple of balls out of the air in his rookie campaign.

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This article first appeared on Las Vegas Raiders on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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