The Las Vegas Raiders have a problem at the cornerback position during training camp, but it’s a good problem to have…
Rookie fifth-round pick Hezekiah Masses has been generating plenty of buzz and is, surprisingly, expected to compete with second-year pro Darien Porter for the starting spot opposite Eric Stokes in free agency. That’s on top of having rookie fourth-rounder Jermod McCoy in the mix, and a solid start to camp from third-year pro Decamerion Richardson.
Between Stokes (27), Porter (25),
Masses (22), McCoy (21 on Aug. 16) and Richardson (25), the Raiders have a stable of young talent and promising outside cornerbacks on the roster. The problem is only two can be on the field at a time, so the coaching staff will have to get creative to maximize and get the most out of the position group’s collective potential.
It sounds like that’s already in the mix, as ESPN’s Ryan McFadden posted on X/Twitter that the Raiders were experimenting with having Stokes and Porter on the perimeter while Masses was covering the slot at one point during practice on Monday, Aug. 10.
That tells me while Masses is getting most of the attention publicly, the coaching staff is just as pleased with Porter’s performance in camp. To be fair, there have been plenty of notes that the latter has been playing well. There’s just more buzz around the former because he’s new, performing better than expected and has emerged as a starting candidate despite being a fifth-round pick. For what it’s worth, the Raiders’ first unofficial depth chart has the second-year pro above the rookie.
So, it seems like the coaching staff is looking for ways that they can get Stokes, Porter and Masses on the field at the same time. This is something they’ll find out for certain with a trial-and-error period in practice, but it does beg the question: Are Masses and/or Porter capable of handling nickelback duties?
Part of where the ambiguity lies is that neither of them has much experience covering the slot.
According to Pro Football Focus, the 2025 third-round pick took a total of 16 snaps as an inside cornerback during his college career at Iowa State, and was only targeted one time (an incompletion) while in slot coverage. Granted, it’s worth the reminder that he was originally a wide receiver and didn’t get much playing time at corner in general until his last season in Ames. But even as a rookie in the NFL, Porter took just two snaps at nickel.
Meanwhile, Masses experience covering the slot is about the same, with 29 career snaps from that alignment over four seasons of College Football. He drew four targets and allowed three catches for 36 yards and a touchdown on those opportunities, per PFF. The lone score accounted for one of the four he surrendered last year.
Traits-wise, slot corners are typically on the shorter side and have good short-area quickness to be able to stick with shifty slot receivers. For example, Taron Johnson, who the Raiders traded for in the offseason and was a 2023 second-team All-Pro nickelback, is a shade over 5-foot-11, per MockDraftable. Porter is one of the taller cornerbacks in the league at nearly 6-foot-3, and Masses is fairly long too at 6-foot-1.
In other words, neither of them fits the typical size profile for the position. It’s often difficult for taller corners to make quick transitions because their center of gravity is higher and their strides are longer, so it takes them longer to get in and out of cuts. It requires more effort to sink their hips and cut their stride length down versus someone who’s closer to the ground and already has shorter strides, relatively speaking.
The height difference is likely why Masses was viewed as the better initial candidate to cover the slot than Porter. Neither player has particularly great short-area quickness, but the Cal product has more potential to improve in that area.
Another significant factor for playing nickelback is being physical enough to get involved in run fits. Especially since nickel personnel typically means a linebacker is coming out of the game, the defense needs the extra defensive back to bring some juice as a run defender since they’re going to be lined up near the box. A defensive coordinator can hide a bad run defender on the perimeter, but that isn’t the case on the inside.
Despite his lack of size, that’s one of Johnson’s strengths. He’s feisty, willing to stick his nose in the running game to take on blocks and is a good tackler. That doesn’t describe Masses or Porter, though. That isn’t to say the latter two shy away from run defense, but they don’t bring the same level of physicality a typical nickelback would. Part of that is chalked up to how they’re built.
As mentioned above, both Masses and Porter are significantly taller than Johnson/the typical physical profile for an inside corner. However, Porter is only three pounds heavier than Johnson, while Johnson has seven pounds on Masses, according to the Raiders’ roster. That’s going to limit the two young defensive backs’ ability to contribute against the run because they aren’t very dense.
To summarize, the coaching staff is giving Masses (and maybe Porter down the line) an opportunity to see what he can do at slot corner rather than just assuming the rookie can’t get the job done. Maybe the Cal product can hold up in coverage at that spot. But right now, it seems like that might be trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.
Of course, this is the time of year to experiment with these types of lineups, so there’s no shame in at least giving it a try.
