The Raiders keep turning over the same problem: finding cornerbacks they can actually trust. That search has run through multiple general managers and head coaches over the past five seasons, and Las Vegas has spent a lot of that time back at square one.
Under John Spytek, the effort hasn’t slowed down. The Raiders have added at least one defensive back in nearly every draft since 2020, and in Spytek’s first two offseasons in charge, he brought in four cornerbacks who are all expected to matter. One of the key pieces in that group is Darien Porter, who is now heading into his second NFL season with a bigger role and a lot more on his plate.
Porter played in all 17 games as a rookie and started 10 of them, then spent training camp lining up in different spots and packages around the field. With the Raiders installing a new defense under coordinator Rob Leonard, his growth has become one of the more important storylines on that side of the ball. Eric Stokes and Taron Johnson are set to lead the cornerback room, but Porter’s development could go a long way toward determining how well the group holds together.
Defensive backs coach Joe Woods said he has already seen progress from Porter early in camp.
"He's getting better. Again, I think the thing with Darien [Porter] that maybe people forget is that he really didn't play that much DB in college. You have guys that play DB from when they're playing little league to high school to college, and he was a receiver,” Woods said following training camp.
“So, a lot of the nuances of the game for him was something that he was learning last year. So, now he's a lot more comfortable. There's still things he's working on, but I feel like he's really improved."
Woods said the biggest jump has come in the details - the stuff that separates a raw corner from a reliable one.
"It's just the understanding of the game. Like we talk a lot about the pre-snap process, just in terms of information that the offense provides you, down and distance situations, when to be more aggressive, when you have to back off. I feel like all those things he's more comfortable with and he understands a little bit better right now," Woods said.
That kind of growth matters because the Raiders are trying to get things moving in the right direction under Klint Kubiak and his new staff. If the defense is going to take a step, the cornerbacks have to be part of that push. Right now, that group is still the team’s biggest concern.
The good news for Las Vegas is that the room is young and moldable. The bad news is that youth cuts both ways, and the Raiders need better play from the position than they got last season. Porter doesn’t have to be the loudest voice in the room, but his performance will carry real weight for a defense that can’t afford to have its back end become a problem again.
Woods said the mindset has to be there first.
"I think first and foremost, with anything you do, any walk of life, it's your mindset. And I think for us, it's confidence. We have to have the mindset when we go out there that we can cover anybody," Woods said.
"We're going to be covering the best athletes on the opponent's team, so we've got to have that confidence that we can get the job done."
For the Raiders, that’s the challenge. For Porter, it’s the next stage of the job.
In Other News...
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The timing mattered, too, because Cousins has been stacking better days than rookie Fernando Mendoza, who has had his share of ups and downs while working through the offense. Even with Mendoza still getting chances to push the battle, Cousins looked composed and in control, offering a reminder that in camp, how a quarterback responds after turbulence can matter almost as much as the drama itself. [Read more 🡒]
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The bigger signal may have come from the way head coach Klint Kubiak handled a practice altercation between Cousins and Maxx Crosby. By sitting both players out of the next practice, Kubiak sent a message about accountability before anything else, and Davis has taken that kind of structure as part of the current leaderships appeal. After years of uneven results, the Raiders owner appears ready to judge this stretch by the tone being set as much as by what happens on the field. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Fans Will Read Into This Strange Maxx Crosby Incident
A routine Raiders training camp session got a little too real when Maxx Crosby struck quarterback Kirk Cousins twice on his throwing arm, turning practice into a brief confrontation and giving everyone on the sideline something to talk about. Crosby has spent the summer as one of the biggest names on the roster, and any hard edge from a player like that tends to get noticed fast, especially when it involves a quarterback in camp.
The strange part is how quickly the moment drifted beyond the field. Former NBA player Joe Johnson floated a theory that Crosbys actions were tied to a desire to land with the Cowboys, a notion that has not been confirmed and sits squarely in rumor territory. Crosby, for his part, has denied that trade speculation has changed his focus and remains with the Raiders, but once a scene like this leaks out, it is the sort of thing Cowboys fans are going to keep reading into. [Read more 🡒]