The Baltimore Ravens made a big addition to their secondary by signing veteran cornerback Chidobe Awuzie earlier this week, but they likely aren’t done.
Make no mistake, Awuzie is a great addition who gives them a third starting-caliber cornerback to play alongside Marlon Humphrey and Nate Wiggins. However, the Ravens’ depth at the position is still quite lacking, and if one of those three go down, they could be in trouble.
So, many expect Baltimore to still draft a corner in next month’s NFL Draft. Perhaps not in the first round, as was expected before the Awuzie signing, but relatively early on.
ESPN’s Matt Miller has them doing just that, projecting them to land a unique prospect in Iowa State’s Darien Porter at No. 59 overall in the second round.
“The Ravens need cornerback depth, a necessary feature in the pass-heavy AFC North,” Miller wrote. “A former wide receiver, Porter has all the physical traits teams want in a man cover corner. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, with 33⅛-inch arm length, he is bigger and longer than most receivers he’ll face, and he also has 4.3 speed. Porter has played only one season of defense, so he’s still working on technique, but he’s an immediate special teams asset who could develop into a promising man or zone defender.”
That part about Porter having only one year of defensive experience – he previously played wide receiver – will inevitably turn some teams away. So will the fact that he’s 24-years-old, which, combined with him being a project player, could make him a tough sell.
That said, Porter’s early results at corner were very encouraging. Pro Football Focus’ Josh Liskiewitz even named him as a “boom-or-bust” prospect due to how much promise he showed.
“In 2024, Porter was targeted 17 times and allowed just five receptions for 70 yards. He intercepted three passes, dropped a fourth interceptable pass and broke up four more. While it’s a limited data set, the results speak for themselves: opposing quarterbacks posted a passer rating of just 4.7 when throwing his way.
“His run defense, however, left much to be desired. Across 218 run-defense snaps, Porter recorded just seven tackles, missed four, and consistently struggled to shed blocks and maintain edge containment.”
Liskiewitz added that Porter is likely to be a Day 3 pick, well below where Miller had him in his mock. However, his great performance at the combine, where he ran a blazing 4.3-second 40-yard dash, could raise his stock.
It would definitely be a risky pick, but Porter could have great upside for Baltimore.