Raiders Training Camp Report 20: Who Stood Out Today

HENDERSON, Nev.—It was a beautiful morning here at the Intermountain Health Performance Center, team headquarters, as the Raiders just wrapped up their last practice before heading to Houston for a joint practice with the Texans tomorrow and a preseason game on Thursday.

The Raiders are looking forward to getting plenty of excellent reps against a team like the Texans, and they see it as a terrific opportunity to improve.

Klint Kubiak | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

What To Expect in Houston

I have maintained for years that joint practices are far more valuable than the preseason games. Not for the players at the bottom as much as for those at the top.

The reason is that most first-string players will participate in preseason games sparingly, but significantly in a joint practice and against the opponent's first string.

That gives you a true representation of your team and its talent.

Adian O'Connell, Kirk Cousins | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

There’s More

Coach Klint Kubiak thinks there is another big thing to come out of joint practices.

"Well, things shouldn't change. The intensity is going to ramp up, but the standards that we have here should carry over to Houston.”

Excitement From the Players

DT Adam Butler is one of the most respected voices in the locker room. The former Super Bowl champion understands the value of joint practices, not only for a vet like him but also for his younger teammates.

"You get a lot more out of it because going against our team, our team does one thing, but somebody else does another. Especially in the beginning weeks of training camp, you normally get just one look. Every team has their own different style and their own different schemes and stuff like that, and you have to adjust your game. You have to adjust your techniques to accommodate whatever schemes that they run. And it's very beneficial to get those different looks. I'm excited."

Things To Ponder

Matt Gay, Kansei Matsuzawa | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

Special Teams Are Special

I mentioned earlier that Joe DeCamillis, the Raiders special teams coordinator, is one of my favorite coaches to watch. He is spirited, lively, and always teaching. In all my years covering football, I have never seen a football coach put as much emphasis on special teams as Kubiak, and it will pay off.

Dylan Laube couldn’t praise DeCamillis more when asked about the special teams savant.

“Joe [DeCamillis] is the man. I mean, you've got him, Tim [McConnell], Marquice [Williams], all of them kind of have their unique traits on special teams, and they've been super helpful with every single player on the team, and they're trying to establish great special teams on this team."

One-Two Punch to the Gut

The Raiders didn’t like Mike Washington Jr. (MWJ) in the 2026 NFL Draft; they loved him. They were thrilled to land him as a key part of the Klint Kubiak dual-approach to the running game. Fast like Ashton Jeanty (4.3), he is a downhill power runner as well, and the perfect complement to RB1 Jeanty.

FB Connor Heyward talked about this combo for the Silver and Black.

“It's unbelievable. Obviously, you guys saw what Ashton [Jeanty]'s done in college and what he did last year as a rookie, and just being right next to him every day, he wows me every day. And then Mike [Washington Jr.] coming here, bigger back, but you see an explosion. You see both their vision."

"I think they'll both be able to complement each other. Ashton's a great leader, and obviously, he's the guy in the room. But we have so many guys in there that are going to push him and make us all overall better.”

Spencer Burford: Like a Rock

Atonio Mafi, Spencwer Burford, Kolton Miller | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

LT Kolton Miller and C Tyler Linderbaum have gotten enormous attention, and rightfully so. But lost in their consistency is how good LG Spencer Burford has been. Incredibly consistent, there is no battle, or one even close, at his position - something Kubiak expected all along.

"I have seen that, and that was the expectation for Spencer [Burford]. He's a guy that's played a lot of football that we're counting on to have a physical season for us."

The Maturation of Darien Porter

Darien Porter, the sophomore cornerback, has made significant strides so far, and while he isn’t a finished product, he continues to make strides. Something Kubiak has taken notice of.

"I think when you look at the NFL, so many players make big jumps year one to year two. He has the abilities to do it. I think he's a guy, I said this about Fernando [Mendoza], that is an ascending player that we are counting on, and he's just going to keep getting more confident. He's got a great coach in Joe Woods, great coaching Matt [Robinson] that's preparing him for the season to come."

Las Vegas Raiders CB Darien Porter | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

Porter Loves What They Want From Him

The Raiders' new DC, Rob Leonard, will lead a defense that attacks. While Kubiak likes what he is getting out of Porter, Porter likes what they are asking him for in Leonard’s new scheme.

"I think it really plays to my strengths as a taller, longer corner. Be getting up and being able to make a receiver uncomfortable is something obviously, that really plays into my type of game that I like to play. So, I'm really looking forward to that opportunity."

Individual Standouts Today

1. QB Kirk Cousins was strong. He had five touchdowns and directed the offense impeccably. He did have one interception, which I will discuss next.

2. S Isaiah Pola-Mao was outstanding. He had the aforementioned INT on Cousins. It was a pick he wouldn't have made without perfect technique and his eyes back on Cousins. The ball was underthrown, but it looked like either Cousins was throwing to the wrong spot or the receiver ran to the wrong spot. Either way, if IPM had not had his eyes in the backfield while supplying terrific coverage, no way he would have snagged that.

3. Jackson Powers-Johnson (JPJ) vs. Caleb Rogers rotated today in their bid for the starting RG spot. I thought Rogers had the better day between the two.

4. Subsequently, JPJ did go down, but quickly got up on his own. He did leave practice under his own power. No reason to speculate, as he walked off on his own and did not return.

5. Multiple times today, CB Eric Stokes took away the first read of Cousins, forcing him to move in his progression. That is a stat no one keeps, but it is an enormous accomplishment.

6. S Jeremy Chinn was very solid today. He had more than one play in which he used his physicality to move a guy off his mark, and perfect coverage in the end zone kept TE Brock Bowers from scoring a touchdown.

Las Vegas Raiders RB Ashton Jeanty | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

7. RB Ashton Jeanty had a successful rookie campaign on a very bad team. This year, on a team with a coherent offensive game plan and tremendous coaching at every level, it looks like he is ready to burst onto the NFL scene from successful rookie to bona fide star. His acceleration in the running and passing game, and his hands, have already given this franchise big dreams for their RB1.

8. Welcome to the NFL, rookies. OL Trey Zuhn III was going head-to-head with DE Keyron Crawford. Crawford has only been playing football for a short time, but when he tried a spin move on Zuhn, he was quickly escorted to the ground by the reigning SEC offensive lineman of the year (Jacobs Blocking Trophy).

9. QB Fernando Mendoza had two nice touchdowns, but also had some rookie mistakes. The thing about the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft that had NFL executives praising him is that, just like you saw at Indiana, he doesn’t get in his own way. He can take a rough start and allow it to fuel him to finish strong, and he did.

10. S/CB/Nickel/LB Treydan Stukes had another outstanding day. The rookie is not just adjusting to the NFL, but also to his natural position and new ones. Was he perfect? Of course not, but he made several terrific plays and executed at a high level.

Las Vegas Raiders DBs Darien Porter, Jeremy Chinn | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

11. CB Darien Porter has an enormous football IQ, and again today he continued to develop and make plays. On two different occasions, he had perfect coverage on a route that was impeccably run and a ball that was perfectly thrown. It was one of those situations that he couldn’t have done anything different. On the stat sheet, it will look like he failed, but to the coaches watching the film, he didn’t. Good day for him.

12. TE Brock Bowers had two touchdowns. TE Michael Mayer had one, and WR Jalen Nailor had two touchdowns—all from Cousins.

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