Unless the Raiders make a move before the start of the regular season, it looks like rookie cornerback Darien Porter is going to be one of the starting cornerbacks in Las Vegas and that could be a situation to keep an eye on.
After beginning his college career as a wide receiver, Porter only made the switch to cornerback three years ago, and there’s no question opposing quarterbacks are going to put him to the test early.
On Saturday, the Cardinals targeted Porter for a first quarter touchdown, and it was a play that the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Adam Hill said head coach Pete Carroll had a noticeable reaction to.
“I can tell you for sure, obviously everybody saw it because it was so noticeable on the game set and the touchdown, but Pete Carroll did not like that rep from Darien Porter on the fourth down touchdown play. It was bad. That was a rookie play,” Hill said on the Vegas Nation First and 10 podcast.
“We talk about Darien Porter, all the skills in the world. And great dude, I think he’s going to eventually be a good player. But he doesn’t have much experience playing corner and that showed.”
If the Raiders don’t add depth at cornerback, they won’t have a lot of options outside of Porter and the rookie might have to figure out the position on the job.
Decamerion Richardson made an impression on the coaching staff early in training camp, but Richardson is only in his second NFL season and no longer seems to be in the conversation to be a starter as of the third preseason game. That could change, but it seems like Richardson doesn’t have as much momentum towards a starting job at the moment.
For everyone in Patrick Graham’s secondary, it’s a little concerning that the unit hasn’t faced the kind of competition in practice that they are going to see in the regular season. Jakobi Meyers is an above average wideout, but he doesn’t get a lot of respect on the national level and there isn’t much experience on the roster behind him.
The Raiders will travel to New England where they’ll face Stefon Diggs in the regular season opener, and the wide receiver talent won’t fall off much in the following weeks with the Los Angeles Chargers and Washington Commanders (who reached a contract extension with Terry McLaurin on Monday) lurking in weeks two and three, respectively.
I’m seriously concerned about the entire defense as a whole. CB, S, and LB rooms are shallow with depth. Depth is one thing but if the talent level isn’t there then there’s a huge problem. We have very little talent depth wise across the board on both sides of the ball. I hope I’m wrong but what I e seen so far hasn’t impressed me in the least. This is a .500 club at best this year.
I’m thinking the same thing Pj. We just don’t have the talent, currently, to compete with the teams in our division. I’m just hoping for disciplined play and small improvements made as the season unfolds. They’ll need a good draft and FA acquisitions next offseason to become relevant again. Get those foam bricks ready for the tv??!!
We just gave up a 5th rounder for QB Kenny Pickett! Hopefully this guy can run Kelly’s offense?! Looks like a sign of desperation by the Raider brass. We need to get something for O’Connell once he’s heathly.
Crazy to give a 5th for Pickett! Zero value from the guys in charge now. Every transaction we are losing.