The Las Vegas Raiders came out of the 2026 NFL Draft clearly focused on the secondary, and one of the more intriguing additions from that group is already turning heads in camp. Fifth-round cornerback Hezekiah Masses, who began his college career at Florida International before transferring to Cal for his senior season, has quickly pushed himself into the conversation for a starting job.
Masses’ final year in Berkeley was the kind of season that got people talking. He finished with five interceptions and nine pass breakups, production that helped fuel the idea that he was a bargain in the draft. Plenty around the league viewed him as more of a Day 2 talent, which is part of why his early camp surge has drawn attention.
Through the first nine days of training camp, Masses has been one of the clearest winners. He’s battling Darien Porter for a spot, and right now he appears to have the edge heading into the first preseason game. The possibility of him opening the year as a starter is very real.
That momentum has also caught the eye of Las Vegas secondary coach and passing game coordinator Joe Woods, who offered a striking comparison when talking about Masses.
"He can cover. I'm all about getting on the body just in terms of being tight whenever we play press.
He has that skill set," Woods said. "There are some guys in the past that he reminds me of in terms of quickness, like Denzel Ward had that extreme lateral quickness where he can get on the body.
He has that same type of trait. Not saying he's Denzel, he's got a long way to go, but there are some really good things that he's doing."
That’s a pretty heavy compliment for a rookie trying to carve out a role, but Masses has handled the offseason and camp challenges well. He was pushed by Kubiak earlier this offseason and has responded by making the most of his chances.
If he keeps flashing on defense, the Raiders won’t have much choice but to keep him on the field. Porter is still in the mix, but Masses has been making noise and putting himself in position to be the corner opposite Eric Stokes in Week 1.
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