Raiders face cornerback puzzle as Masses emergence complicates rotation
With Treydan Stukes sidelined and Eric Stokes labouring, Las Vegas must decide how to deploy a crowded, improving cornerback group before facing New Orleans.
Las Vegas Raiders' cornerback room has become the most compelling selection dilemma of their unbeaten start, with rookie Hezekiah Masses forcing his way into the conversation ahead of Sunday's Week 3 trip to New Orleans, according to Yahoo Sports.
Masses recorded two interceptions in his lone start last week and, according to Yahoo Sports, also offered surprising run support with a pair of defensive stops, prompting the argument that he should start against the Saints despite limited experience on the outside.
Darien Porter, who allowed just one catch on five targets in the season opener per Pro Football Focus figures cited by Yahoo Sports, has yet to record an interception across 11 career starts, a point used to explain why Masses may edge ahead of him in the pecking order rather than replace him outright.
Yahoo Sports suggests a rotation split closer to 50/50 between the two is plausible this week, with the pairing used to determine who ultimately claims the starting job on a longer-term basis.
Jermod McCoy played 18 snaps across two series last week, but struggled with what Yahoo Sports describes as rookie mistakes that went unpunished by the Chargers. It was his first regular-season appearance since 2024, and the report argues New Orleans, armed with tape on him, could target those errors if he features again.
Complicating matters further, Treydan Stukes was ruled out as the report was being written, leaving Isaiah Pola-Mao and Tristin McCollum as the remaining options at free safety. One idea floated by Yahoo Sports would see Taron Johnson move to safety, with Masses shifting into the nickel and Porter kept outside for third-and-long situations, given Johnson's struggles in coverage this season and his history of rotating into the back end during camp.
Eric Stokes, last year's shutdown corner, is also under scrutiny. He has been targeted 10 times through two games, conceding six completions for 73 yards and a touchdown without forcing a single incompletion, per figures relayed by Yahoo Sports. Of the incompletions on those targets, two came from off-target throws by Malik Wills when the receiver was open, one was batted down by Tonka Hemingway, and another was broken up by a Chargers tight end on a pass intended for a teammate. The report stops short of predicting an imminent change but notes that continued strong form from the younger corners would put pressure on Stokes to respond.
The broader story behind the secondary's turnaround, Yahoo Sports argues, is defensive coordinator Rob Leonard. Despite a background built almost entirely around the front seven, Leonard has installed a scheme drawing on Mike Macdonald's Seattle framework, complete with layered pattern-matching coverages, even though he spent only one season working under Macdonald in Baltimore.
Leonard has paired that coverage identity with frequent stunts, simulated pressures and creeper blitzes designed to manufacture disruption up front, a continuation of work he began as the team's run-game coordinator last year, when Las Vegas already generated negative plays against the run through similar twists and stunts.
The Raiders take their unbeaten record into New Orleans, a Saints side Yahoo Sports describes as ascendant since the second half of last season, with the cornerback rotation and Stukes' absence at safety likely to shape how Leonard sets up his defence for the assignment.