Inspired by the early buzz surrounding rookie Hezekiah Masses coming out of Las Vegas Raiders’ training camp, let’s take a look at a few sleeper candidates who could climb up the Raiders’ depth chart and win a starting job at each of the team’s position battles.
QB: Aidan O’Connell
To be honest, O’Connell is a lot more likely to start for another team than he is in Las Vegas. The team’s “position battle” at quarterback is really centered more around when the coaching staff feels Fernando Mendoza is ready for NFL action,
rather than a true competition between Mendoza and Kirk Cousins. So, even if O’Connell is sharp this summer, that probably just makes him more likely to get traded. But, by process of elimination in this exercise, there is a sliver of hope that he could be behind center against the Miami Dolphins.
WR: Malik Benson
The Silver and Black have a wide-open competition for their third wide receiver spot, with second-year pros Jack Bech and Dont’e Thornton Jr. being the early favorites. But those two shouldn’t be very far ahead of the rest of the depth chart, leaving the door open for Benson. The sixth-round pick also fits Klint Kubiak’s profile at the position, sacrificing size for the versatility to line up in the slot or on the boundary and the potential to make an impact at every level of the passing game. The biggest question is if Kubiak would want something different with the offense’s WR3 spot, since Tre Tucker, Jalen Nailor and Benson have similar skill sets.
G: Jordan Meredith
Listing Meredith feels like cheating since he’s started 19 games over the last couple of years in Las Vegas. However, the early favorites to land the two starting guard spots in 2026 seem to be Spencer Burford, Jackson Powers-Johnson and Caleb Rogers, pushing the two-year starter into the “sleeper” category. If the young guys aren’t getting the job done in camp, Meredith’s experience could give him an edge, seeing as the organization likely doesn’t want to take chances when it comes to protecting Mendoza.
RT: Trey Zuhn III
Zuhn could easily be listed in the section above, as his versatility combined with the Raiders’ need for improved offensive line play leads to a few avenues for him to crack the starting lineup. The rookie will probably get more reps at guard this summer since both of those first-string roles are up for grabs, but don’t sleep on him being in the mix at right tackle alongside DJ Glaze and Charles Grant. The Texas A&M product was one of the best pass protectors in College Football last year to potentially provide some extra Mendoza insurance. That being said, Zuhn would have to prove that he can overcome a lack of length to hold down the edge and be up to par as a run-blocker.
DT: Tonka Hemingway
Like the majority of positions mentioned here, defensive tackle is anyone’s game in Las Vegas. The biggest competition or question mark is at nose tackle (assuming the switch to a 3-4 base scheme), but it’s not as if Thomas Booker IV, Jonah Laulu and Adam Butler are game-changers on the interior defensive line. While Hemingway isn’t an option at nose, he doesn’t have the size and strength for the position, but he has been the biggest standout among the defensive tackles so far in training camp. The South Carolina product has the athleticism and pass-rush skills to generate interior pressure, and the work he did in the weight room this offseason has caught the coaching staff’s eye to potentially become a more complete player.
CB: Hezekiah Masses
As mentioned above, Masses is one of the early winners in training camp. While the expectation was that second-year pro Darien Porter and rookie Jermod McCoy would duke it out for the second starting cornerback spot this summer, Masses has thrown his name into the mix. He was a standout during OTAs and minicamp, earning some first-team reps during the spring, and that carried over into the Raiders’ first training camp practice. The Cal product isn’t particularly sticky in coverage, but he led ACC cornerbacks with five interceptions last season, and Las Vegas’ secondary could use someone who can create turnovers.
FS: Dalton Johnson
Free safety is a tough position to predict because the Silver and Black don’t have a clear deep defender on the roster. Fellow rookie and former Arizona Wildcat Treydan Stukes seems to be the early favorite and profiles as someone who could take over that spot, but Stukes primarily lined up at nickelback in college and Johnson actually had more career snaps at free safety (362 versus 39, per Pro Football Focus). So, there is a world where Stukes takes the nickel spot from Taron Johnson, and the other former Wildcat defensive back lines up on the backend of the defense this season.
