The Raiders came out of the draft with two cornerbacks in Jermod McCoy and Hezekiah Masses, and early camp buzz has quickly started to separate the two.
McCoy drew plenty of attention before training camp even opened. Many around the team believed he would have been a top-10 pick if not for the knee injury he suffered 18 months ago, and the Raiders are planning to ease him in. Even so, there is a chance he could be in the starting lineup by the time the season begins.
But during the first week of camp, it has been Masses who has grabbed the spotlight. Raider Nation Radio’s “JT the Brick” said this week that Masses looked “store bought and ready to go,” and on Friday Sports Illustrated insider Hondo Carpenter offered a comment on second-year cornerback Darien Porter that only added to the praise for Masses.
“I was impressed with [Darien Porter] today. He has not stood out to me this camp.
He has not performed poorly. I want to make that clear because you all know, I’m a big Darien Porter.
I believe in this kid. I do believe in this kid,” Carpenter said in the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast.
“I think not from the defensive coaches, but specifically from the interference with the head coach last year, all the defense suffered. But I’m just going to tell you, Darien Porter today looked extremely comfortable. I watched closely the first couple of days of camp.
“He was in the right spot, right time. He accelerated.
He looked smooth. He flipped his hips one time.
And my first reaction was I was watching Hezekiah Masses. And it wasn’t, it was Darien Porter… Porter had himself a really good day today.
He’s going to like it when he goes in and sits down with the coaches and watches that film.”
The bigger picture for Las Vegas is hard to miss: this cornerback group suddenly has some real juice. Eric Stokes is back on a three-year deal, Porter is trending up, Masses is earning rave reviews, and McCoy could be the most talented of the bunch if he stays healthy.
There’s still plenty to sort out once the pads come on and preseason games begin. Masses has been building momentum for the last three months, and the real test is whether he can keep it going. For now, though, the Raiders look like they may have landed a legitimate steal when Masses slipped to them in the fifth round.
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Trey Zuhn III is one of the more interesting names in that mix, because he has already been moved into right tackle work with the second-unit offense after spending time at guard and center. That kind of reshuffling usually says as much about the coaching staffs urgency as it does about the players versatility. The Raiders do not need a camp battle that lingers much longer, though, because right tackle is quickly becoming one of the spots they can least afford to leave unsettled. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders First Padded Practice Exposed One Concern Fans Cant Ignore
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DJ Glaze, though, remains one of the more pressing watch points for the Raiders as the line work gets tougher and the margin for error shrinks. In padded practice, that side of the offensive front can tell you a lot about how quickly a team is coming together, and Glazes performance did not make that conversation any easier to ignore. For a team trying to establish itself under a new coaching staff, those early camp reps matter because they hint at which problems are temporary and which ones may need a lot more solving. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Quarterback Battle Is Showing Why This Offense Needs Time
The Raiders quarterback room has become one of the most watched parts of training camp, and for good reason. With Kirk Cousins and Fernando Mendoza joining returning quarterback Aidan OConnell, Las Vegas suddenly has multiple passers trying to get comfortable in a new offensive scheme under a new coaching staff, and the early days have looked like what usually happens in a true installation period: some clean stretches, some rough ones, and plenty of learning on the fly.
For the Raiders, the bigger takeaway may be less about who is ahead right now and more about how much work still needs to be done before this offense looks settled. The quarterbacks are competing, sure, but they are also working together to sharpen the system and help the group improve collectively, which suggests this camp is as much about building the foundation as it is about deciding a pecking order. [Read more 🡒]