Zeke Masses didn’t just get his chance Sunday - he grabbed it and ran with it.
With starting cornerback Darien Porter sidelined, the Las Vegas Raiders turned to the fifth-round rookie in Week 2 against the Los Angeles Chargers, and Masses delivered the kind of debut that can change a depth chart fast. He finished with five tackles, including four solo stops and one for a loss, plus two interceptions in his first career start. That made him the first Raiders rookie to record two picks in a game since 1979.
The production was one thing. The way he did it was another.
Masses’ first interception came on a tip drill, and he immediately turned it into a 29-yard return to the Chargers’ 23-yard line, giving the offense a short field even though it didn’t cash in. His second came late, when he jumped a Justin Herbert pass with a little more than two minutes left to help seal the game for Las Vegas. He popped up and sprinted 20 yards deeper into Chargers territory before being ruled down by contact.
Afterward, the rookie made it clear he wasn’t surprised by any of it.
"The coaches gave me an opportunity, and then Herbert tried me twice, and I was just trying to make a play on the ball," Masses told reporters. "It's mine, man.
It ain't no 50-50 ball, I'm trying to get every ball in the air. Trying to go get it. ...
I'm comfortable out there. I'm supposed to be out there."
That kind of confidence fits what Masses has already shown. He flashed in Week 1 against the Miami Dolphins, breaking up a pass on the first play of his career, and he carried that same playmaking streak into college at California last year, where he picked off four passes and broke up seven in his first five games in 2025.
For the Raiders, that matters because this is exactly the sort of cornerback they’ve been chasing.
Rob Leonard’s message all offseason was simple: "if it's up, it's ours," and Masses backed it up against the Chargers. On six targets, he allowed just two catches for 16 yards while taking the ball away twice. That’s the kind of impact Las Vegas has been missing for years.
The recent interception numbers tell the story. Over the past few seasons, the Raiders’ leaders in picks were Kyu Blu Kelly with three in 2025, Jack Jones with three in 2024, Tre'Von Moehrig and Robert Spillane with three in 2023, Duron Harmon, Denzel Perryman and Amik Robertson with two in 2022, six players tied with one in 2021, and Jeff Heath with three in 2020.
The point is obvious: the Raiders haven’t had a true ballhawk in that secondary in a long time.
Through two games, Masses is looking like exactly that. And he isn’t operating alone.
Treydan Stukes picked off a pass last week, while Porter and Eric Stokes have given the defense solid coverage even if they haven’t piled up turnovers. Jermod McCoy is also described as a potential future star.
For opposing quarterbacks, that creates a problem. If Masses keeps making plays like this, the middle and outside of the field start shrinking fast. And if teams want to test him early in his career, they may want to think twice.
Masses has made his point already: those throws aren’t 50-50. Not when he’s on the other end.
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