The Las Vegas Raiders have some veterans who might be in trouble, and Isaiah Pola-Mao's new threat is Treydan Stukes.
The NFL draft comes with consequences up and down the roster, and the Las Vegas Raiders are an especially good example of that this season. The Raiders are just starting a total rebuild, which means several significant veterans will face threats from newly-drafted rookies.
Ben Solak of ESPN took a closer look at how that will work this year, and he identified 14 veterans who could lose their jobs to rookies. One candidate was Isaiah Pola-Mao, who could be in trouble based on the Raiders’ draft strategy.
Solak added that he didn’t think this would happen, but it’s certainly possible. Pola-Mao played more than 1,000 defensive snaps for the Raiders, including 861 at safety, and the Raiders drafted a secondary player who could be a significant threat.
Second-round pick Treydan Stokes played multiple positions in college at Arizona, but he finished his career at safety. He can play the slot, but according to Solak his body type and play style fits that of a deep middle safety, and that’s Pola-Mao’s old job.
Solak thinks the Raiders will end up with a there-safety rotation, which makes sense since teams rarely risk starting a safety full time as a rookie. Las Vegas had what the writer referred to as a poor safeties room last season, and he added that Stukes might be the best out of the trio of Pola-Mao and Jeremy Chinn already.
He also saw Chinn and Pole-Mao as rising free agents, although that doesn’t make much sense given the fact that he flagged the room as being weak. It does bolster the case for Stukes getting more playing time, though, and he could be leading that position group in snaps by the end of the season.
One of the threads that ran through the Raiders draft this year was the need for ball-hawking defensive backs. Stukes leads the list of draftees in that regard, and the only defensive back whose job is safe is Eric Stokes, who bet on himself last year and was one of the few Raiders to play well and get a new deal going forward.
This group should also benefit from a better pass rush. The Raiders relied almost exclusively on defensive end Maxx Crosby to get sacks, but that’s about to change given the players Las Vegas signed in free agency. Kwity Paye, Nakobe Dean and Quay Walker all fit the description of being good pass rushers at linebacker and on the edge, and hopefully that will help new players like Stukes succeed.