Sep 10, 2023; Denver, Colorado, USA; Las Vegas Raiders safety Isaiah Pola-Mao (20) reacts following the win over the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Raiders' Isaiah Pola-Mao is Star in the Making

Originally posted on Las Vegas Raiders on SI
By Michael Canelo | Last updated May 12, 2025 2:00 PM ET

The Las Vegas Raiders are looking to get things going in the right direction in 2025. The big question for the Raiders is how the defense will look next season. The Silver and Black had a lot of key players leave in free agency this offseason.

But the Raiders also made a couple of moves to get their own free agent signings to take their place. New head coach Pete Carroll and new general manager John Spytek made the decision not to overpay players who were looking for new contracts, and instead signed players that they believe will help the team win more games next season and fix the things they are trying to do in Las Vegas.

The safety position for the Raiders is going to be interesting to see. The Raiders are going with Isaiah Pola-Mao to lead the way in the secondary at the safety position.

The Raiders lost Tre'Von Moehrig in free agency. But Pola-Mao showed last season that he is ready to take the next step to be a top safety in the league. The team also brought in veteran safety Jeremy Chinn to take the other safety position.

The good news for the Raiders is that defensive coordinator Patrick Graham has done a great job in getting all his defensive players ready, and they have found success when they take the field. Graham will look to do that again with the safeties in 2025.

Our Hondo Carpenter talked about Isaiah Pola-Mao becoming a star with the Raiders on a recent episode of the "Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast."

"Let us start with a guy that everyone knows how much I like, I think he is a burgeoning star," said Carpenter. "I like every single thing about his game, but if there is one thing I like more than anything, it is that he does not repeat mistakes. This coaching staff loves the fact that he does not repeat mistakes. He takes coaching very well. He takes it. He goes back and watches film to make sure he can identify why exactly he did what he did. And then he corrects it by developing the muscle memory."

"When you talk to teammates about him, his name comes up, about how hard he works, and that is Isaiah Pola-Mao. I love everything about IPM's game. I like the vision, I like the ability for quick analysis. He does not have to think."