Las Vegas Raiders: Big surprises from initial 53-man roster

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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – AUGUST 14: Wide receiver Trishton Jackson #9 of the Minnesota Vikings evades a tackle by safety Isaiah Pola-Mao #40 of the Las Vegas Raiders during the first half of a preseason game at Allegiant Stadium on August 14, 2022, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Getty Images) /

Las Vegas Raiders: Big surprises from the initial 53-man roster

UDFA Isaiah Polo-Mao makes the 53-man roster

This one is strange. Pola-Mao recorded 99 coverage this preseason and didn’t look too great.

Remember how we talked about Amik Robertson being 9.0 short of allowing a perfect quarterback rating during his rookie season? That was the regular season. Here, in the preseason, Pola-Mao actually achieved what Robertson almost did by allowing a perfect 158.3 quarterback rating. The undrafted free agent also allowed 18 yards per reception.

Pola-Mao didn’t impress with his tackling either.

The 23-year-old was credited for 11 total tackles, but responsible for missing 3 tackle attempts. That means Pola-Mao was missing tackles at a clip of just over one-in-four, or 25%. From his safety position, he was given a run defense grade of 42.6.

While this preseason wasn’t impressive by any measure of the word, it’s important to remember that Pola-Mao has just one preseason under his professional belt. The coaching staff saw potential beyond the numbers, and with that, the safety earned a roster spot.

With Luke Masterson, Darien Butler, and Sam Webb all making the roster as well, this tallies four undrafted free agents on the 2022 Las Vegas Raiders roster. This number is equal to the amount of 2021 draft picks still on the team (Moehrig, Koonce, Deablo, Hobbs), and is twice as many as those taken during the 2020 NFL Draft (Robertson, Simpson – who were the two last picks for the Raiders).

HENDERSON, NEVADA - JULY 27: General manager Dave Ziegler (L) and owner and managing general partner Mark Davis of the Las Vegas Raiders look on during the team's first fully padded practice during training camp at the Las Vegas Raiders Headquarters/Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center on July 27, 2022 in Henderson, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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Pola-Mao joins a deep safety rotation made up of Johnathan Abram, Trevon Moehrig, Roderic Teamer, and coverage specialist Duron Harmon. This move should indicate defensive coordinator Patrick Graham has taken deep coverage very seriously.

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