With the Las Vegas Raiders sitting at 2-6 heading into the second half of the season, the focus for key matchups moving forward will be on young players who have a chance to prove themselves. That starts with the Week 10 contest on Thursday Night Football against the Denver Broncos, as the youth movement should be underway in Las Vegas.
Darien Porter vs. Courtland Sutton
Pete Carroll and the Raiders’ coaching staff finally decided to bench Kyu Blu Kelly and move Porter up the depth chart against the Jacksonville Jaguars. That was the rookie’s second start of the season, his first coming in Week 5 against the Colts when Eric Stokes was out with an injury.
As expected, the Jaguars tested Porter early and often. He was targeted six times for five completions and 65 yards, per Pro Football Focus. It certainly wasn’t the outing the third-round pick was hoping for, but Jacksonville did take advantage of him playing off coverage on several occasions, and he was in a good position but beaten by a perfect throw and catch on another rep.
In other words, the Iowa State product’s performance last looks worse on paper than it actually was. However, things won’t get any easier this week.
The Broncos will have Sutton move around quite a bit, taking 249 snaps as a left outside wide receiver and 194 on the right side, via PFF. So, it should be expected that Sean Payton takes a page out of Liam Coen’s playbook and tests the rookie cornerback with his No. 1 wide receiver early and often on Sunday.
The area where the 6-foot-4, 216-pound wideout poses the biggest threat is on contested catches. He is currently tied for fifth among wide receivers with 11 contested catches and a career-high 58.8 success rate on such targets, per PFF. Luckily, the 6-foot-3, 195-pound corner has the size to match up well and create some intriguing battles for the ball in the air.
Additionally, Sutton’s 566 receiving yards are the 10th-most at his position, and his four touchdowns rank in the top 15. So, Porter will have his hands full in more ways than one against the Broncos, while also having an opportunity to prove himself against good competition.
Jackson Powers-Johnson vs. John Franklin-Myers
Jackson Powers-Johnson
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - OCTOBER 12: Jackson Powers-Johnson #58 of the Las Vegas Raiders gets set during the second half of an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans at Allegiant Stadium on October 12, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Brooke Sutton/Getty Images)
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Who doesn’t love a classic battle in the trenches between two players with hyphenated last names?
While Zach Allen deservedly draws most of the attention when it comes to Denver’s interior defenders, Franklin-Myers’ contributions shouldn’t be overlooked. The latter has 11 sacks in 26 games with the Broncos, including four over nine contests this year. Also, he ranks tied for 16th with 22 pressures and seventh in pass rush win rate (15.9 percent) among defensive tackles in 2025, per PFF.
Meanwhile, Powers-Johnson has been up and down in pass protection this season. He was notably benched in Week 7 against the Kansas City Chiefs, surrendering three pressures (one sack) and recording a 0.0 pass-blocking grade on 14 opportunities while struggling against Chris Jones. However, JPJ bounced back last Sunday versus the Jags, yielding just one pressure on 43 opportunities to post an 89.4 mark.
Seeing as Franklin-Myers spends nearly 75 percent of his snaps at left end or defensive tackle, these two see each other frequently on Thursday. For the second-year offensive lineman, that creates a great opportunity to show how much he’s grown since the disastrous outing in Kansas City.
DJ Glaze vs. Jonathon Cooper
Moving one spot over on Las Vegas’ offensive line, Glaze has also had issues as a pass-protector in the past.
He got off to a rough start this year, giving up 12 pressures (two sacks) in Weeks 1-3. However, the second-year pro has shown improvement in the five games since then, with five pressures (one sack) allowed in those contests combined. Also, he’s coming off an outing where he posted the best single-game PFF pass blocking grade (80.8) of his short career.
So, Glaze has plenty of momentum rolling right now, but he faces a significant challenge in Cooper.
The Broncos’ edge-rusher has 26 sacks since 2023, which is tied with Khalil Mack for the 11th-most during that timeframe. This season, Cooper has gotten to the quarterback seven times, which is tied for sixth in the league, and his 36 pressures are tied for ninth at his position, per PFF. Seeing as 340 of his 346 snaps in 2025 have come as a left outside linebacker, he’s a significant threat to opposing right tackles.
In the same vein as Powers-Johnson, this is a great opportunity for Glaze to prove himself and gain some confidence moving forward.