Hezekiah Masses is about to go from a depth piece to a much larger part of the Las Vegas Raiders' plan. Darien Porter's injury has pushed the fifth-round rookie toward a bigger snap share in Week 2, and the timing could hardly be sharper with the Los Angeles Chargers coming next.
That is why Masses is being searched now. The Raiders already expected a battle at boundary corner this summer between Porter and Masses, and the workload split never really materialized in Week 1 against the Miami Dolphins. Porter stayed on the field until he was injured, which left the Raiders with a sudden hole opposite Eric Stokes and a need to lean on a trio of rookies or newcomers on Sunday.
The numbers from opening weekend help explain why Porter had been hard to move. According to Pro Football Focus, he was targeted five times by the Miami Dolphins and gave up one reception for 12 yards. He made two tackles, missed one, and allowed a quarterback rating of 39.6 when targeted. Pro Football Network even had him as the second-highest-rated cornerback in coverage on opening weekend in terms of impact, behind Christian Gonzales.
That is what makes the injury so disruptive. Porter had played well enough to hold the job in Week 1, and the Raiders had looked as if they might rotate him and Masses on the boundary during the season. Instead, the injury forces a faster answer, and the answer appears to be a bigger role for Masses, even if it comes with less certainty and less margin for error.
The matchup adds pressure. The Los Angeles Chargers still have effective pass-catching weapons, and Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey matter to their teams' passing attacks in ways defenses cannot ignore. For the Raiders, that means the cornerback group has to hold up immediately, not after a ramp-up period. Masses is no longer just waiting for a chance. He may be asked to live in it against the Chargers, and the next true test comes Sunday.
