Darien Porter, Iowa State: 2025 NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report

Porter was a three-star wide receiver recruit from Bettendorf High School in Bettendorf, Iowa in the class of 2019

Iowa State cornerback Darien Porter is a converted wide receiver and former record-setting high school track athlete. His frame creates some physical limitations, but he has quickly improved since transitioning to cornerback in 2022. Porter projects as a top 100 selection in the 2025 NFL Draft.

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Darien Porter, CB Iowa State: 2025 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Sixth-year redshirt senior cornerback from Bettendorf, Iowa

Background: Porter was a three-star wide receiver recruit from Bettendorf High School in Bettendorf, Iowa in the class of 2019. He was the No. 706 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 730 for On3.com. Porter was an unranked three-star recruit for Rivals and an unranked three-star recruit for ESPN with a 77 grade out of 100. He made 27 receptions for 440 yards and seven touchdowns and rushed for 208 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries as a senior. As a junior, Porter caught ten passes for 251 yards and four touchdowns. He earned All-District honors twice and was a First Team All-State selection as a kick returner as a senior. Porter won the Class 4A State Championship in track and field in the 400-meter dash in 2017 and 2019 and finished as the runner-up in 2018. His 46.99-second 400-meter time in 2019 set the Class 4A state record and was the first sub-47-second 400-meter run in state high school history. Porter won a Class 4A State Championships in 2019 on the 800-meter spring medley team and in the 200-meter dash. In 2018, his 4x400 relay team finished second in the state championships, and he finished third in the 200-meter dash.

Injuries & Off-Field: Missed the 2023 Oklahoma State game, missed the 2024 Baylor game after exiting the Houston game early with an injury the previous week

Awards: 2024 Honorable Mention All-Big 12

Pros: Special teams experience on the kick return, kick coverage, punt return, punt coverage, and field goal block units, more than 960 career special teams snaps, kick blocking machine, blocked punts in four consecutive seasons, long arms, elite straight line speed, good speed to carry receivers vertically, good recovery speed, allows limited to no separation on go routes, speed to stick with receivers on crossers, mirrors releases well when his feet are patient, matches route tempo, quick feet to mirror breaks at the top of the stem, gears down quickly to match out routes, quick to close once he sees a route break in front of him from off-man, reads the quarterback’s eyes, sinks below route combinations to bait QBs into poor throws, good closing burst, gets his head around to locate the ball, size at the catch point, maximizes arm length at the catch point, uses long arms to compete with stalk blocks, willing to out-leverage stalk blocks and challenge the run, motor runs hot in pursuit, long speed shows up in pursuit, squares up and drives through tackle attempts, tackle radius

Cons: Limited defensive snaps in his career, thin and wiry frame, long legs and high hips, too leggy to mirror twitchy releases in press, needs to channel more power through his hands on jams, bumped around at the line by thicker receivers, opens his hips early, transitions can be a bit leggy and jerky at the hips, slight snag transitioning from backpedal to forward drive, allows chunks of separation on slants against twitchier route runners, sucked downhill by play action, shook on stutter-go vs. UCF (2024), still working through tracking the ball over his shoulder, late to recognize and trigger against runs, overpowered and displaced by blocking tight ends, throws a shoulder and tries to wrap up late on tackle attempts, some diving and sliding off tackle attempts

Overview: Porter is a former wide receiver recruit who transitioned to cornerback full-time in 2022. He has more than 960 career special teams snaps split across five special teams units. Porter is a special teams ace with five blocked kicks in his career and punts blocked in four consecutive seasons. He enters the NFL with fewer than 700 career defensive snaps. Porter is a tall, high-hipped, and lean outside corner with long arms and legs. He possesses elite straight line speed, which allows him to carry receivers vertically, stick with crossing routes, and recover when initially beaten off the line. Porter allows limited to no separation on routes working vertically. He’s taken snaps in soft shoe press and off-man but is most at home in Cover 3 zones. The Iowa native mirrors releases well when he maintains his patience, but his long legs make it difficult to mirror twitchy athletes. He struggles to match the physicality of some receivers at the line and doesn’t generate enough power with his punches in press. Porter matches route tempo well but has the bad habit of opening his hips too early. His leggy transitions leave something to be desired and allow opportunities for sudden or twitchy receivers to separate. Porter also deals with a slight snag when stopping his backpedal and shifting into forward drive. He has the quick feet to mirror receivers at the top of the stem and decelerates to stick with short and intermediate route breaks. He quickly closes on short routes from zone and off-man and reads the quarterback’s eyes to shift and tighten his coverage. The sixth-year prospect sinks below routes to sit in throwing lanes and bait quarterbacks into interceptions. His lack of experience sometimes shows up as poor discipline against play action, stutter-goes, and other double moves. Porter’s closing burst helps him recover and make plays at the catch point. He gets his head around to locate the ball and maximizes his size and length to break up passes. Porter uses his arm length and motor to compete against stalk blocks, but he lacks the power to provide consistent production against the run. He’s better as a pursuit-style run defender because of his speed. Porter squares up for tackle attempts but often slides off tackles or misses diving attempts.

Overall, Porter is an intriguing athlete with some unteachable physical tools and enough technical development to suggest he could be a high-upside project for a patient organization. However, his physical limitations and lack of experience as an older prospect will limit his early career contributions on defense and primarily confine him to special teams.

Role & Scheme Fit: Outside corner in a Cover 2 or Cover 3 scheme

Round Grade: Late Third to Early Fourth Round

Size: 6'4", 200 lbs. (Unofficial)

Submitted: 11-12-24

Updated: 12-12-24