Silver And Black Pride
Eric Stokes and Kyu Blu Kelly didn’t come off the field in the Las Vegas Raiders’ season-opening road win against the New England Patriots this past Sunday.
So much for the cornerback rotation head coach Pete Carroll hinted would happen, eh?
At least, for one game.
Stokes, who had locked down a starting outside spot from the onset, logged 71 defensive snaps in Week 1, as did Kelly, a surprise riser in the offseason. While Stokes (26 years old, in his fifth year, and finished with five total tackles and stop for loss in the opener) was a mainstay as a starting corner, it was the spot opposite him that was wide open.
For a good portion of camp, 2025 third-round pick Darien Porter was the tag team partner on the opposite boundary of Stokes. Instead, Kelly (24 years old, in his third year, and finished with nine total tackles and a pass deflection) got the starting nod while Porter didn’t play a lick on defense and instead notched 20 special teams snaps.
“He did a nice job. He got challenged. They went after him. They throw the ball a lot to the split inside, and he wound up over there. He had some challenges,” Carroll said when asked about Kelly’s performance. “I totally disagreed with the PI on the play. I thought it was a heck of a play that he made. He was on guys the whole time, and he tackled well and supported well out of the secondary, and the secondary contained situations, and when the ball bounces to the corner, he was there. I thought he played a really nice game.”
With the size and speed profile that meets the Carroll requisites (6-foot-1, 4.28 second 40-yard dash timed speed, and 32 3/4 inch arms), Stokes not leaving the field in the Week 1 win isn’t surprising. The 71 snaps in the opener represent the second-highest defensive snap count in his career. He logged 72 in his rookie season with the Green Bay Packers (who picked him 29th overall in the 2021 draft).
He’s long been light in the takeaway department since entering the league (one interception which he snagged as a rookie in 2021) and he has a penchant to play his defensive assignment versus the ball. But Stokes has the coaching staff in Las Vegas behind him and a clean bill of health. That’s something to keep an eye on as the season progresses.
For Kelly, the 71 defensive snaps represents the most he’s played since entering the league as a fifth-round pick by the Baltimore Ravens in the 2023 draft. His previous high, in terms of defensive snaps per game, was 17 for the Washington Commanders back in 2023 and then 14 for the Raiders last season.
At 6-feet, 188 pounds, and 32-inch arms, Kelly fits the Carroll profile, albeit at a slower speed (4.52 40-yard dash time at the NFL combine).
The Stanford product played well and wasn’t...
