Raiders 7-round 2023 NFL Mock Draft: Trading down on Day 1 a must?

Raiders 7-round 2023 NFL Mock Draft: Trading down on Day 1 a must?

11 Joey Porter Jr. CB | Penn State

After trading down from 7th overall to 11th, the Raiders still have a chance to grab an impact defender and do so by grabbing Joey Porter Jr. out of Penn State.  Porter is the latest elite defensive back prospect who is the son of an elite former NFL player and the Raiders will be hoping that he follows in the footsteps of Patrick Surtain II and Jaycee Horn.

The former Penn State star has great size at 6-2 and 198 pounds and ran a very respectable 4.46 40 at the combine. He is the slowest of the top three cornerback prospects in the 40 but has the best 10-yard split as well as having the longest arms and wingspan. Porter has plenty of experience having started 31 games over his college career and the fact that his father is former Steelers and Dolphins great Joey Porter definitely helps his case from a football intelligence perspective.

The concerns about Porter or that he can be inconsistent with his techniques and can be a bit grabby in coverage. The Raiders will have to coach him up to improve his technique, but he has the prototypical size and speed that you look for in a shutdown cornerback.

The ideal comparison for him is former Raiders great Nnamdi Asomugha who was one of the best bump and run man corners in the NFL for a long time. We would totally understand if the Raiders opt for Devin Witherspoon or Christian Gonzalez but we feel that Porter has the best combination of measurables, upside, and talent to allow him to become an elite NFL player.