The Raiders spent two days 3 draft picks on cornerbacks in this year’s draft and there was a lot of enthusiasm around both Jermod McCoy and Hezekiah Masses going into training camp.
Many believe McCoy would have been a top-10 pick if not for a knee injury he suffered 18 months ago, and the plan is to bring McCoy along slowly. There’s a chance McCoy could end up in the starting lineup by the start of the season.
But through the first week of training camp, it has been Masses who has been getting the most attention from media personalities in attendance.
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 dropped an interesting line on second-year cornerback Darien Porter that said a lot of about how Masses has been performing at camp.
“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.”
Raiders CB room is drastically improved
For the first time in a while, the Raiders have a cornerback room filled with youth and potential.
Eric Stokes is back on a three-year deal, Porter is improving, everyone seems to love Masses, and McCoy might be the most talented cornerback on the roster if he can stay healthy.
Once the pads are on and preseason is underway, it will be interesting to see if Masses can maintain the momentum he has built for the last three months, but at the very least it seems like the Raiders stumbled into a legitimate draft steal with Masses falling to them in the fifth round.
x: @raidersbeat