Raiders' DC Graham Sounds Off on Isaiah Pola-Mao's Development

The Las Vegas Raiders have found another building block with safety Isaiah Pola-Mao. Pola-Mao has played great this season and can be a full-time starter for the Silver and Black next season.

Dec 16, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Drake London (5) catches the ball against Las Vegas Raiders safety Isaiah Pola-Mao (20) and cornerback Decamerion Richardson (25) in the first half at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Las Vegas Raiders are looking to get a win in Week 17 when they travel to New Orleans to take on the Saints. The Raiders are coming off a win in Week 16 and looking for their first winning streak of the season. The defense this season has dealt with injuries to multiple starters. But defensive coordinator Patrick Graham has done an excellent job adjusting to a young defense.

One player who has benefitted from Graham's defense since entering the NFL has been safety Isaiah Pola-Mao. Both came into the Raiders organization in 2022. Pola-Mao finally got his opportunity this season and has not looked back.

Pola-Mao took over the position when veteran safety Marcus Epps went down with a season-ending injury. Pola-Mao has not missed a step and has fully taken advantage of the opportunity this season. He has made plays since stepping in and you see him flying all over the field. He had two huge plays for the Raiders last week.

"Same thing that happened his rookie year when he got a chance to get in there, he makes plays," said Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham. "So that comes from his diligent work, started off with him learning how to play in this league on special teams, correcting some of the stuff we saw from college that he needed to get corrected, his tackling. He's done a good job with that. And then when he gets his opportunities, he makes the most of it. And again, we talk about guys you're proud of in terms of their growth and development, and he's one of them. Started under Chris Ash working with him before. I talked about time on special teams, and then GA [Gerald Alexander] has taken him, and it's just really grown. And he took the most of the opportunity from an injury situation we had with [Marcus] Epps, and just proud of him. He goes out there and he tries to do what we ask him to do."

Another building block for the Raiders going forward. It goes to show that the coaching staff has done a great job of getting the whole team from top to bottom ready to play at the NFL level and find success on the field.

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