The Raiders fell 40-6 vs the Colts, a large reason coming to offensive turnovers and poor defensive play. Despite the poor play of the Raiders defense, third round rookie Darien Porter played well logging 2 tackles and a run stuff. The 6’3/202 rookie out of Iowa State hasn’t seen the field much through his first five NFL games.
The Raiders have extremely high hopes for Porter, and after succeeding in training camp he struggled in preseason allowing 3 receptions for 41 yards and a touchdown along with a 146.9 QBR on 4 targets. After his struggles in the preseason, Porter didn’t play in weeks 1 and 2 before logging his first 16 snaps in week three vs the Commanders. In those snaps, the Raiders rookie logged 4 tackles, 2 stops, and a PBU on his sole target. Porter continued his playtime with 17 snaps in week 4 where he was not targeted. Week 5 was the first time Porter earned the opportunity to start logging 67 defensive snaps for Las Vegas where he posted the above stats while also allowing just one reception for 9 yards on 2 targets.
Eric Stokes has been good for the Raiders this season with the 26 year old playing 237 snaps and logging 4 PBU on 13 targets while allowing just 6 receptions, 68 yards, and a 62.3 QBR. The former Green Bay Packer has shown the ability to be a starting caliber cornerback and so long as he stays healthy, should continue starting for the Raiders the remainder of the season. Opposite of Stokes has been former Ravens 5th rounder Kyu Blu Kelly who’s allowed 19 receptions, 330 yards, a touchdown, and 127.9 QBR along with 3 PBU off 25 targets. Kelly has also struggled tackling missing 4 for a 14.8% missed tackle rate. In 304 snaps, Kelly is in the bottom 30 for NFL CBs in terms of PFF grade, coverage grade, QBR, and yards allowed. The Raiders are 1-4, they’ve seen Kelly against five diverse offenses and quarterbacks where he’s struggled consistently. The Raiders deserve to let their third round pick, who needs time in real game settings at cornerback to adapt to the NFL see the field. Porter has flashed in his limited time, and was a standout CB at Iowa State. At 1-4, the Raiders focus should be on seeing what the rookies and young talent can do.
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