Las Vegas Raiders rookie CB Hezekiah Masses said what needed to be said after picking off Justin Herbert twice
The Las Vegas Raiders have a good bunch of rookies, and Hezekiah Masses has already made a statement.
The Las Vegas Raiders are 2-0 for the first time since 2021, and head coach Klint Kubiak may just have a squad on his hands. Las Vegas came away with two interceptions on Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers, picking off quarterback Justin Herbert twice. A fifth-round rookie cornerback led the charge, and he had plenty to say about it afterward.
Sure, it’s two games. Take everything with a grain of salt. Nobody is saying this team is going to win a playoff game or even make the playoffs, because that’s probably not in the cards. Could it happen? Maybe. The way the Raiders are playing right now, it’s hard to say why not. But you have to do that through the course of a whole season.
Regardless, it’s obvious that Kubiak has a culture and a system in place in Las Vegas unlike anything we have seen in a long time. Sunday’s performance against the Chargers is evidence of that.
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We all know the Raiders have struggled to create turnovers in recent years. They did it twice with interceptions on Sunday, and the player responsible for both was fifth-round rookie cornerback Hezekiah Masses.
He had to come in because Darian Porter has been injured, and he split some reps with Jermon McCoy before the coaching staff decided to keep Masses out there full-time. He was playing too well to pull. After the game, Masses made it clear he wasn’t fazed by going up against Herbert.
“Herbert tried me twice and I was trying to make a play on the ball. It’s mine. It ain’t no 50-50 ball. I’m comfortable out there,” Masses said.
You love to hear stuff like that from your fifth-round rookie who came in due to injury and seized the opportunity. Two interceptions against one of the better quarterbacks in the league is no small thing, and the confidence Masses is playing with fits the identity Kubiak is building.
The Raiders are already a better team
The Raiders aren’t taking anything from anybody. It doesn’t matter who you are, rookies included. This is a hard-nosed team that’s going to play hard on defense. They’re not always going to be great. They’re not always going to get the stop you need, because this is a young team with a first-time defensive coordinator and there are still some holes on this defense.
But they’re going to play hard all the time. They’re going to fly to the ball, and Week 2 proved that. Masses wasn’t the only young defensive back who stepped up. Trayden Stukes played well, too. All of the Raiders’ young guys in the secondary have been performing well, all things considered.
Week 3 is going to be a different story. The New Orleans Saints just beat the Baltimore Ravens, which tells you something about what they’re capable of. The Raiders’ young secondary is going to get tested even more, and as the season goes on, that will continue to be a storyline to watch.
Las Vegas has something special brewing. These two weeks have shown a team with a real identity and a culture that players are buying into. Now we see what happens against New Orleans.
