MOBILE, Ala. – For Iowa State CB Darien Porter, preparation is key. Watching tape to prepare for a game is one thing, but Porter wanted to stand out at the Senior Bowl. He came prepared to do so by watching tape of some of the receivers he’d be going up against in practice.
“It’s a lot of mental prep, getting your mind right,” Porter told me after the second day of Senior Bowl practices. “We’ve been Combine training and stuff, but it’s time to put the pads back on and get in that mode. So obviously working my craft these past couple weeks while I’m still training for the Combine, making sure I get my football in. Taking a look at some of the guys I’ll be competing against. What are their strengths, what kind of receiver they are, just things like that to get ready for this week.”
I’m not sure I’ve ever had a player tell me they watched tape to prepare for the Senior Bowl practices. I would say it paid off for Porter as one of my top standouts of the week. It’s also probably no surprise that he was an academic achiever at Iowa State.
Before even watching him play, he stood out as a physical specimen for the cornerback position. He measured in at 6023, 197 pounds with 33 1/4-inch arms. That is the kind of size and length that the Steelers have coveted at the position lately. That was made even more impressive when Zebra Technologies clocked Porter as having the fastest top speed the entire week of practices. He can flat-out fly.
He told me his 40-yard dash goal was to run in the 4.3-second range, or possibly even the 4.2-second range. With his size, that would certainly turn some heads.
Porter’s path to becoming a cornerback was a bit unconventional, and his path to being viewed as a possible first-round draft pick was even more unlikely. He started his time in college as a wide receiver, but that didn’t work out and special teams became his calling card while he learned the cornerback position.
“Receiver wasn’t necessarily working out, so why not try DB? I take a lot of pride in it,” Porter said. “Special teams means a lot to me, but it would definitely help prepare me to play defensive back, no doubt.”
He spent six years in college, so he just turned 24 years old at the beginning of January. Those first three seasons were focused on wide receiver before the final three were on cornerback. He turned into an ace special teamer before he finally got his big opportunity at cornerback.
“Special teams, you gotta be physical. I’m running down at gunner, blocking punts, it’s all about physicality and I think that’s what kind of initiated the change from offense to defense for me,” Porter said.
Porter blocked four punts at Iowa State and had 16 special teams tackles with zero penalties against him. He made himself an asset in that area before getting his opportunity at corner.
He played 24 games at corner in 2022 and 2023, but it wasn’t until the 2024 season that he began earning starts. He registered three interceptions as a starter this season.
There is no doubt that the talented Iowa State roster helped prepare him for this next step at the NFL level. He lined up against WR Jayden Higgins and WR Jaylin Noel at practice frequently. Both of those players were standouts at the Senior Bowl. Higgins could wind up being a top-50 pick, and Noel could wind up being selected by the end of Day 2 as well.
“Being able to compete against those guys one last time before we all go to the next level,” Higgins said. “Iron sharpens iron. We’ve done that for the past two, three, four years.”
One thing that consistently stuck out to me when watching Porter in Mobile is his ability to use his long arms to win in press man coverage at the line of scrimmage. He was jamming receivers and messing up their releases left and right.
“Having such a long wingspan and being a longer, taller guy, you can make receivers uncomfortable,” Porter said. “So trying to taking advantage of that and use all my length to lock out on guys, don’t let them dance at the line.”
Here is a rep from practice posted by TJ Wengert on X.
Porter told me that he hadn’t met with the Steelers in Mobile as of the second day of practices. That could have changed, but it also doesn’t necessarily mean anything one way or the other. There is still the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine next month and then the official visits and Pro Day meetings later in the process.
