Kudos to Kyu Blu Kelly for putting in the hard work to not only impress the coaching staff, but also earn a starting spot at outside cornerback for the Las Vegas Raiders.
After not being able to find a foothold
in the league after being selected in the fifth round (157th overall) of the 2023 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens, the Stanford product was initially an afterthought — nothing more than camp fodder — for the new regime in the desert. But the son of productive cornerback Brian Kelly not only boasted the prerequisite size and length that Raiders head coach Pete Carroll oh so desires — 6-feet, 191 pounds, with 32-inch arms — he progressively showed in the offseason he not only deserves to stay but earn a starting gig.
Kelly supplanted third-round pick Darien Porter as a starting outside corner after preseason tilts and here we are.
Kelly, a seven game starter as Las Vegas is in a much-needed bye week at 2-5 overall. The 24-year-old is playing the most substantial snaps of his three-year career with 423 total through the first slate games. And that accounts for 93 percent of the Raiders defensive total.
As our Tristian Kuhn noted in his Time for Raiders to play rookies piece earlier this week, the Kelly’s struggles are apparent. And the bye week and ensuing week is an opportune time for the Raiders to end the Kelly experiment and give Darien Porter substantial amount of snaps to see if he can fare better.
On the season, Kelly has 30 total tackles (24 solo, six assists) with one stop for loss, three pass deflections and a fumble recovery. Depending on which charting you prefer — in this instance Pro Football Focus (PFF) or Pro Football Reference (PFR) — the data on Kelly isn’t flattering.
PFF charts Kelly with 25 receptions allowed (seventh most amongst cornerbacks) and an average of 16 yards per catch. That’s 400 yards yielded and the group stamps the cornerback with a 50.2 grade, good for 97th out of 112 charted.
PFR, meanwhile, tracks Kelly with 24 receptions allowed on 36 targets. He’s charted with 330 yards and two touchdowns given up (243 air yards, 87 yards after the catch). Quarterbacks targeting Kelly sport a 114.4 rating and 66.7 completion percentage.
Porter, the Iowa State product who also fits the Carroll bill at nearly 6-foot-3, 195 pound, and 33 1/4-inch arms, in comparison has logged 112 snaps on defense (24 percent) and 92 snaps on special teams (45 percent). He played zero defensive snaps in Week 6 and then 13 in Week 7. His highest participation on defense was the Week 5 loss to the Indianapolis Colts: 66 defensive snaps (100 percent) with two total tackles. On the year, Porter has six total tackles with one start. And PFR charts him with two completions on four targets for 19 yards.
Porter is just a tad older than Kelly — born on Jan. 6, 2001 compared to Kelly born on May 22, 2001 — but has the edge on size, speed (4.30-flat 40-yard dash) and it’d be wise to see what kind of return on investment (ROI) the Raiders can get from the 68th overall pick in the 2025 draft.
Seven games in, Las Vegas has a better grasp of what Kelly has to offer as an outside corner but the book on Porter is very much opened to only the preface/table of contents. Porter’s relative newness to being a cornerback is likely a barrier to more playing time.
Yet, Las Vegas felt he was valuable enough to be the 68th overall selection. And it would behoove the Raiders player personnel room to see what kind of results Porter can produce — for better or worse — as a starting outside cornerback with substantial snaps. Porter is under contract for the next three seasons after 2025 while Kelly is under contract for this season alone. This isn’t to say Kelly doesn’t re-up with Las Vegas at season’s end, however.
Another avenue the Raiders can explore with Kelly, if he’s supplanted by Porter, is dabbling at slot cornerback. That’s currently Darnay Holmes’ gig and the 5-foot-10, 198-pound, 27-year-old garnered 133 snaps (29 percent of the defense’s total) while logging 22 snaps on special teams. He’s racked up 12 total tackles and PFR charts him with 15 completions allowed on 20 targets for 138 yards and a touchdown. Quarterbacks throwing his way sport a 110.0 rating and 75 percent completion rate.
Kelly garnered snaps at that nickel spot in training camp and a shift in personnel may work. Kelly is a reliable tackler with 30 on the year and only two whiffs. While Holmes has 12 total stops and only one missed tackle, he did have an egregious double-whammy against the Chiefs in Week 7 with a holding penalty on Xavier Worthy and inability to intercept or deflect the pass that Worthy caught and gained 12 yards on.
Like Kelly, Holmes is only under contract for this season. And if Raiders head coach Pete Carroll is true to his word about not having any qualms playing younger players, getting Porter snaps as a starting outside corner while seeing if Kelly can improve or hang in the slot puts two 24-year-old defenders on the field for the Silver & Black.
And, while on the top of outside cornerbacks, the Raiders flier signing of Eric Stokes merits attention and praise. Another Carroll fit at 6-foot-1, 193 pounds, and 32 3/4-inch arms, Stokes is a speedy cornerback (4.24 timed speed) and is a stingy defender in his six games (all starts). PRF charts the 26-year-old with nine completions allowed on 20 targets for 103 yards and zero touchdowns. Quarterbacks throwing at him have a 61.0 rating and 45 percent completion rate.
Playing in 378 snaps so far, Stokes totals 15 tackles with three pass deflections and has established himself as an unquestioned starer at outside cornerback. He’s on a one-year, $1.5 million deal and is likely to command more coin this offseason — from Las Vegas or another team.
