Young veteran is taking over at strong safety
Las Vegas Raiders’ young veteran safety Isaiah Pola-Mao has become the team’s starting strong safety now that Marcus Epps is out for the season with the torn ACL.
Let’s look at what to expect from the USC product, who was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2022:
Size:
6-4, 205 pounds.
How many starts does he have?
None. He has played in 30 NFL games, but he has no starts. He played 62 defensive snaps as a rookie in 2022. He played 130 snaps last season with a career high 54 snaps coming at Miami. He has played 41 defensive snaps this season with 27 coming against Carolina in Week 3. So, his playing time is about to increase dramatically.
2023 highlights:
He was active for 16 of the Raiders’ 17 games last season. He played, at least, one defensive snap in 10 games. His season high was playing 77 percent of the snaps in a November loss at Miami and he had his only interception in that game. His second most amount of defensive playing time was playing 34 percent of the snaps its December win over the Chargers. Pola-Mao was a steady contributor on special teams all season. He had 20 tackles on the season.
His career highlights:
Pola-Mao, the nephew of Pro Football Hall of Fame safety Troy Polamula, played in 11 games as an undrafted free agent. He was mostly a special-teams contributor as a rookie, but he did play some defense with a season-high percentage of 30 percent of the snaps in a Week 18 loss to Kansas City. He had 20 tackles on the season.
What to expect from his as a starter:
The USC product hasn’t looked lost when he has played, but he is taking on a big responsibility. Epps was a leader in the secondary and he was praised by caches for his communication skills. So, Pola-Mao has a lot on his plate as he prepares to take on a starting role.
