Las Vegas Raiders position coach makes a brave comparison between one Day 3 rookie and a current Pro Bowler
The Las Vegas Raiders have found themselves a steal at cornerback with Hezekiah Masses, as Joe Woods said he reminds him of Denzel Ward.
The Las Vegas Raiders may have struck gold in their 2026 draft class. We have all heard the love regarding sixth-round pick Malik Benson. And of course, fifth-round pick Hezekiah Masses has made a ton of noise, too. Those two guys seem to be the rookies getting the most attention outside of Fernando Mendoza.
And now, fans are only going to start paying even more attention to Masses. On Saturday, his position coach slightly compared him to a Pro Bowler.
Raiders DB coach Joe Woods compares Hezekiah Masses to Denzel Ward
“He can cover,” defensive backs coach Joe Woods said on Saturday. “I’m all about getting on the body just in terms of being tight whenever we play press. He has that skill set. There’s 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.”
If Masses can get anything close to what Ward is, that’s one of the biggest steals of the entire draft. Ward is a five-time Pro Bowler, and one of the very best cornerbacks in the entire league. Meanwhile, Masses was a fifth-round pick from Cal. He’s already fought from the bottom-ish of the depth chart to sharing reps with the starters.
Masses seems to currently be in a battle for a starting spot with Darien Porter, the second-year player and former third round pick. The Raiders have to love the position they are currently in. Sure, the cornerback room seems dense on paper, but they drafted Masses in the fifth-round and McCoy in the fourth. Both of those guys could be good starters. Masses is on a great track so far.
