Many believe the Las Vegas Raiders had one of the best draft hauls of any team in the National Football League. Time will tell if that is the case, but the Raiders need their group of rookies to make an impact on both sides of the ball this season.
The Raiders Need Their Rookies to Step Up
Darien Porter has faced the typical struggles of a rookie cornerback playing in his first professional football games. The Raiders do not have to look far for examples of cornerbacks who have had the natural growing pains that come with playing one of the most challenging positions in football.
Still, Carroll believes Porter is on the right track and has responded well to the early challenges he has faced. Carroll did not shy away from the touchdown that Porter allowed against the Cardinals, but he feels Porter has done well overall.
Following training camp, Carroll summed up Porter’s first offseason in the league.
“He’s done a good job. He’s learned a lot of football. We’ve challenged him a lot of ways, and I was disappointed that he didn’t make a play on the touchdown pass because it was a play in zone that we could have made,” Carroll said.
“So it shows a little bit of inexperience there, but he’s done a nice job. He’s been working really hard. He’s helped us in special teams as well. So he’s certainly vying for playing time. He’s played a lot in this preseason by design.”
Carroll noted that the Raiders’ group of cornerbacks have performed well up to this point.
“I mean it’s kind of the same, that room is very competitive as well. I mean, I would say you look across our team, almost every position there’s hotly contested battles. I think the cornerback room is one of those rooms where we’re trying to find the right mix right now, but there’s a lot of players in there that are playing well, I think it’s been very competitive,” Carroll said.
“And we’ll kind of see, this is going to be a big week to finish out practice this week, that last preseason game, and kind of see how that position room is going to fall.”
The Raiders released Jakorian Bennett for various reasons, including the expected emergence of Porter. However, like any other rookie, Porter will need time to develop. This means opposing teams will likely attack him until he proves he is a serviceable corner on the professional level.
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