2025 NFL Draft prospect profile: Darien Porter, CB, Iowa State

The New York Giants have invested closely of their secondary during the last couple years. They’ve a number of high-round draft picks in addition to high-dollar free brokers on the cornerback and security positions.

They’re younger, athletic, and gifted everywhere in the again finish of their protection, so it ought to comply with that they’re set there — not less than for now.

Nonetheless, we’ve additionally seen a excessive charge of attrition within the secondary and it pays to be deep. So may the Giants additionally look so as to add a nook who’s already enjoying nicely but additionally has huge untapped upside because of uncommon traits?

Iowa State’s Darien Porter solely has three seasons at cornerback after beginning his collegiate profession as a large receiver. Nonetheless, he’s tall, lengthy, rangy, fluid, and top-of-the-line athletes at any place in the complete class.

Might the Giants choose Porter as an funding for the long run?

Prospect: Darien Porter (10)?Video games Watched: vs. Iowa (2024), vs. West Virginia (2024), vs. Central Florida (2024), vs. Arizona State (2024)

Measurables

Kent Lee Platte | RAS.soccer

Strengths

Finest traits

Athleticism
Size
Ball abilities
Versatility

Darien Porter is a tall, lengthy, and exceptionally athletic cornerback prospect.

Porter combines uncommon size for the place at 6-foot-3 with 33-inch arms and distinctive athletic traits. Not solely is Porter quick and explosive, however he additionally has wonderful motion abilities. He has remarkably fast toes in addition to fluid hips which mix to provide him merely uncommon traits for the place and Porter will enter the NFL with the fourth-highest recorded RAS amongst cornerbacks.

He’s a transformed large receiver and as such he already has a agency understanding of offensive and route ideas. Porter does a superb job of avoiding schemed site visitors and his athletic traits enable him to get better and erase schemed separation. His traits additionally enable him to play each man and zone schemes nicely. Porter’s pace and hip fluidity enable him to stay in tight protection with receivers by way of their breaks or sprinting down the sphere. His expertise as a receiver, processing, and explosive closing burst, in the meantime, make him an efficient zone defender.

Porter’s background as a large receiver additionally offers him wonderful ball abilities. He understands find out how to learn a receivers’ physique language in addition to a quarterback’s eyes and he’s wonderful at high-pointing the ball.

Weaknesses

Worst traits

Expertise
Play power
Mass

Porter has two main weaknesses in his recreation, one in every of which might be seen as a long-term power.

Porter is a large receiver turned cornerback, and solely modified positions previous to the 2022 season. As such, he’s nonetheless very new to the place and defensive aspect of the ball and wishes improvement in a number of elements of his recreation. He nonetheless must work on his approach, significantly on the subject of run protection. He doesn’t constantly use his arms when taking up blockers and as a substitute makes use of a shoulder examine, which ends up in blockers controlling him and him. Likewise, his tackling is a particular work in progress as nicely. He must proceed to work on his angles and type so he can constantly get ball carriers on the bottom.

That mentioned, his inexperience on the place, and on protection usually, suggests upside that may be tapped into with teaching.

There won’t be a lot that Porter can do about his body. He has uncommon size for the place, and even rarer motion abilities for his size. Nonetheless, he has a slender body and his play power is visibly missing when tackling, taking up blockers, and on the catch level.

His body won’t enable further muscle mass to be added with out compromising the athleticism that’s the power of his recreation.

Sport Tape

(Porter is the Iowa State DB sporting quantity 10 with white sleeves on each arms)

Projection

Darien Porter initiatives as a beginning cornerback on the NFL degree, with Professional Bowl potential if he reaches his upside.

Porter might need a rocky begin to his profession contemplating his inexperience on the place. And it would behoove a protection to try to put him able the place he’s working his approach onto the sphere reasonably than beginning instantly. That mentioned, he has elite traits and will excel if he lands in the fitting scenario.

Groups might need to simply accept the truth that Porter could solely ever be an “okay” run defender. Nonetheless, his upside as a canopy nook and his potential ball abilities as a transformed receiver may rapidly make up for that limitation.

Does he match the Giants?Sure.

Ultimate Phrase: An early second spherical worth.