Don’t look now, but the Las Vegas Raiders are atop the AFC West rankings at 2-0 after a red hot start to the Klint Kubiak era. Regardless of your opinion on the first-year head coach, veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins, or the relationship status between the organization and superstar defensive end Maxx Crosby, the team is rolling and the success is coming from a variety of contributors. Most recently the difference came in a standout performance from fifth-round rookie defensive back Hezekiah Masses. His effort at SoFi Stadium on Sunday earned him AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Masses had a breakout performance against the Chargers, racking up five tackles, two interceptions, two passes defended, and a tackle for loss. He allowed just 16 receiving yards on two catches while being targeted six times on the day. All this in his first career start, as he stood in for second-year DB Darien Porter who is battling a foot injury. A genuine seizing of the moment for a rookie who — in the eyes of the Sunday Slate big board — was significantly overlooked back in April.
The Raiders selected Masses in the fifth round with the 175th overall pick of the draft. He carried a fourth-round grade, ended the draft cycle as prospect 115 overall, and CB13 on our board. Our analysis of his collegiate profile may have been more appropriate than what was suggested by his actual draft day stock. Here’s a look back at what made him stand out to us.
With over 2,000 snaps logged on the perimeter at FIU through his first three collegiate seasons, Masses earned a big bump in the transfer portal in a recruitment to Cal. This was an early indicator of what was to come given the Golden Bears’ recent history as a hotbed for transfer DBs (namely Nohl Williams & Marcus Harris), and the shoe fit just right for Masses. In his senior campaign, he recorded five picks, 46 tackles, and an FBS-leading 18 passes defended against 67 total targets on the year.
Masses is the first Raiders rookie with multiple picks in a game since Henry Williams in 1979, and the first Raiders rookie to earn AFC Defensive Player of the Week since Maxx Crosby in 2019, another Day-3 pick the league was late on. None of this came out of nowhere. The ball production was on the stat sheet at Cal, the perimeter reps were banked at FIU, and a transfer into one of the country’s most reliable DB development rooms was the tell. One start doesn’t make a career, and a pass-heavy Saints offense will test the rookie again in Week 3. But if Masses keeps playing the ball like it’s his, the gap between pick 175 and prospect 115 may end up looking definitively conservative. Even on our end.
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