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Two of the Raiders cornerback spots have established veteran starters expected to start this season. The third spot, however, is entirely up for grabs. And one of the more surprising developments early in camp is that it's a late round rookie who is getting a lot of work with the first team.
Hezekiah Masses was the team's pick at 175 overall in the fifth round out of Cal. And from the moment he stepped on the field for the team, he has been earning his reps.
Raiders receiver Tre Tucker noticed Masses right away and since then has lined up across from him many times with the first team.
“Zee, I'm very impressed with him, and I tell him that every day," said Tucker. "When I see him, I'm like, ‘hey, keep going, we're gonna make each other better.’ He caught my eye, actually. I was watching a rookie minicamp, just, you know, looking at the guys. And I was like, who is 35? He's over everyone. And then actually getting to go against him, I can see, you know, he has the talent. He’s super locked in. That’s what you want to see from a young guy. And he's a guy that I think actually has a really, really bright future.”
A highly productive college career wasn't enough for the 22-year-old to get drafted in the first four rounds of April's NFL Draft. He wasn't even the highest cornerback taken by the Raiders. The Raiders took CB Jermod McCoy at pick 101 to lead out Day three. And they took two more players between then and pick 175. At which point his five interception, 13 pass breakup season for the Golden Bears was too good to pass up.
McCoy has been considered the big potential steal for the Raiders in this draft because he had first round talent but slid due to a knee injury. But Masses is making a run at that title and at this juncture is among the leaders to land the starting left side cornerback job.
This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: Raiders rookie CB turning heads, taking 1st team reps at training camp
Continue reading...
Hezekiah Masses was the team's pick at 175 overall in the fifth round out of Cal. And from the moment he stepped on the field for the team, he has been earning his reps.
Raiders receiver Tre Tucker noticed Masses right away and since then has lined up across from him many times with the first team.
“Zee, I'm very impressed with him, and I tell him that every day," said Tucker. "When I see him, I'm like, ‘hey, keep going, we're gonna make each other better.’ He caught my eye, actually. I was watching a rookie minicamp, just, you know, looking at the guys. And I was like, who is 35? He's over everyone. And then actually getting to go against him, I can see, you know, he has the talent. He’s super locked in. That’s what you want to see from a young guy. And he's a guy that I think actually has a really, really bright future.”
A highly productive college career wasn't enough for the 22-year-old to get drafted in the first four rounds of April's NFL Draft. He wasn't even the highest cornerback taken by the Raiders. The Raiders took CB Jermod McCoy at pick 101 to lead out Day three. And they took two more players between then and pick 175. At which point his five interception, 13 pass breakup season for the Golden Bears was too good to pass up.
McCoy has been considered the big potential steal for the Raiders in this draft because he had first round talent but slid due to a knee injury. But Masses is making a run at that title and at this juncture is among the leaders to land the starting left side cornerback job.
This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: Raiders rookie CB turning heads, taking 1st team reps at training camp
Continue reading...
