Eric Stokes was largely anonymous during his four-year run with the Green Bay Packers. He was anything but that starring for my alma mater, Georgia, prior to being a first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft by Green Bay. While he appeared in all 17 games for the Packers last season, he failed to record a single interception in any of his final three years with the franchise. It was time to move on.
Stokes has since found work with the upstart Las Vegas Raiders. We all know how much incoming head coach Pete Carroll loves talented but underutilized defensive backs. I have a feeling that if Carroll cannot help Stokes turn his NFL career around, nobody can. Adding an even greater challenge to the equation are two of the rookies Las Vegas also employs in Darien Porter and Mello Dotson.
Porter comes to Las Vegas as a third-round pick after a great career at Iowa State. Not to be outdone, Dotson links up with the Silver and Black as an undrafted free agent after having played for another Big 12 school of note in the Kansas Jayhawks. I know for a fact that both defensive backs were coached up. This is a testament to how good Matt Campbell and Lance Leipold are at their jobs.
I want to believe in Stokes moving forward, but he might have been a product of Georgia's system.
Eric Stokes must hold off Darien Porter, Mello Dotson with the Raiders
One of my favorite things about Carroll's coaching chops is that it does not matter who you are or where you are from, the best players will play the most plays for his team, especially on defense. Some of his best players at USC were largely unheralded. Who was Richard Sherman at Stanford? What about Kam Chancellor at Virginia Tech? Do not get me started on Bobby Wagner at Utah State...
Yes, Stokes may have played for Kirby Smart at Georgia, but the NFL is a what have you done for me lately league. Porter was part of an Iowa State team that was one game away from making it into the College Football Playoff for the first time ever last season. Dotson's final year at Kansas was not anything to write home about, but it was not that long ago that KU was not winning any league games.
Ultimately, the only way Carroll is able to turn this thing around in a hurry in Las Vegas is by letting competition win out. There are a handful of stars on the Raiders who are not going to lose their jobs, but Stokes is not among them. He has not earned better. He has to earn it right now. The greatest part in all this for the Raiders is the best player between Stokes, Porter and Dotson will play the most.
Where you land may matter quite a ton, but you must remember that half of the NFL went undrafted.