4 Things To Know About Raiders' Darien Porter

Raiders' defensive back Darien Porter is a very unique athlete. Here's four things to know about how unique he really is.

1. Porter was a member of Iowa State's two greatest teams in program history

Iowa State's last conference championship came in 1912, thus when Porter and the 2020 Iowa State Cyclones made it to the Big 12 title game, it was shocking. While the game ended in a controversial win for Oklahoma, it helped Iowa State make the Fiesta Bowl, where they smacked Pac-12 champion Oregon around for 60 minutes. Porter was a special-teams ace.

In 2024, Porter became a defensive back as Iowa State would make it to the Big 12 title game, losing to Arizona State before defeating Cam Ward and Miami in the Pop-Tarts Bowl to finish the season with 11 wins.

2. Porter is a track demon

In high school, Porter won the Iowa Class 4A state championship in the 400 meters in 2017 and 2019, and was the runner-up in 2018.

He broke several Class 4A state records and was the first sub-47.00 400 in Iowa state history. Porter was also a member of several other winning teams.

3. Porter is a former wide receiver

Porter began his career as a wide receiver, mainly contributing on special teams, before making the jump to defensive back. His collegiate path drew a comparison to NFL legend Richard Sherman.

“Well, you go back through the years, we drafted a lot of corners over the years. And we've always looked for guys that are really fast and guys that are really long and tall because of the style of the way we coach them." Said Raiders head coach Pete Carroll. "And we've had some pretty good ones, you know. The one thing I think about Darien, he's a lot like Richard Sherman was."

"Richard Sherman was a wide receiver at Stanford until [Jim] Harbaugh kicked him over to the other side of the ball, and he had one year playing corner. There's a lot of similarities in the makeup of these two kids. Richard's history is pretty bright, so I have really high expectations for how this works out with Darien, and he kind of fits the mold.”

4. Porter's speed translates on the football field

When Porter worked out at the NFL Combine, he put up the fastest times among all corners in the 10-yard split, 3-cone drill, and 20-yard shuttle. His 4.3 40 time was also the third fastest of any player who participated.

Porter looks to be a starring member of the Raiders' 2025 NFL Draft as a new era is ushered in.

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