The Las Vegas Raiders didn’t have a lot of highlights or great players last year, but they did have at least one significant success story. According to Zach Tantillo of Pro Football Focus, Raiders cornerback Eric Stokes was one of the most underrated impact players of last season, to the point where Tantillo dubbed him a “secret superstar.”
Tantillo may be a bit prone to hyperbole, but he is right in one respect. Stokes gave the Raiders a solid cornerback who was occasionally more than that, although it’s hard to justify the hyperbole on a team that finished the year at 3-14.
PFF’s grading system is considered one of the best in the game, though, so let’s take a closer look at some of Stokes’ numbers in the advanced metrics to see how the grade got justified.
One important hidden metric was Stokes’ contract. He signed a one-year deal for just $3.5 million, as the former top pick of the Green Bay Packers chose Las Vegas to rehabilitate his career. Stokes was considered a top ten cornerback coming out of Georgia, and in 2025 he started to play like it.
His 73.6 PFF overall grade was the second highest number on the defense, behind only Maxx Crosby. His coverage grade of 73.5 led the team, and it was a career high for Stokes. Stokes does have speed, having run a low 4.3 in college, so that this point he’s starting to look like a possible late bloomer.
When it comes to the depth chart and the Raiders needsStokes is also the top rated free agent for Raiders, which will be an interesting challenge for both parties. The biggest question for Stokes will be how much he wants to get paid versus how much he wants to get out of Las Vegas.
As for the Raiders, they have a lot of positional needs to fill that will take precedence over cornerback, most especially across the offensive line. Linebacker is another area of need for Las Vegas, but the Raiders shouldn’t let re-signing Stokes become an afterthought.
Teams that go 3-14 need quality players, and the Raiders only have so many draft picks, especially if they select Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the top pick in the draft rather than trade back. As long as Stokes wants a reasonable number, his ability as an impact player makes resigning him a no-brainer.