Raiders Draft Review: What Hezekiah Masses Brings to Vegas

One of my key takeaways from watching Masses is just how instinctual in coverage he was, especially in zone coverage. Whether it was in trail coverage, playing the vertical third, hard-flat shell, or match, Masses had an innate feel for his surroundings, route combinations and patterns, and his ability to read and react to the play.

There are some great examples of Masses' instincts coming into play. I want you all to watch the clip montage below from Billy Marshall: he's in trail out of Cover 3, with his responsibility being the deep third. Here, you see him read his wide receiver running the post, and the No. 3 receiver in the bunch attack the flat vertically—seeing this, he flips his hips and positions himself directly to the football and attacks the catch point at will.

Masses' instincts have helped him culminate elite ball production with 13 passes defended and five interceptions this past season. Here's another example of how that production came to be against Stanford. The Bears are playing quarters with Masses playing the flat shell and matches with the receiver in his vicinity, breaking hard to his hip pocket and attacking the ball with aggression, almost coming away with an interception.

This is a ball hawk out of zone coverage who can play in a variety of shells, and he can also play from off the ball or press man. With 31.75-inch arms, Masses has shown the physicality to win in press-man and jam receivers at the line of scrimmage, as the montage above showcases in a handful of plays.

So far, we know that Masses is instinctual in shell coverages, has the physicality to succeed in press man, and has the ball production to match. Furthermore, there are examples of him winning in run support, driving through the chests of perimeter blockers, and becoming the force defender on runs to the boundary. However, I do have concerns with Masses and a good reason why he fell to the fifth round.

The senior from Deerfield Beach, Florida, is slender and doesn't have a strong frame. There is also the issue of technique, especially in man coverage, where he commits grabbiness in press or off-man when playing downfield, leading to penalties, an almost direct result of struggles in tracking ability. Too often, he'll false step or open his hips too early and sacrifice big plays behind him, plus he can play out of control as a tackler.

An Outlook of What Hezekiah Masses Brings to the Raiders

Masses is an incomplete player, which is perfectly ok. You're not going to ask a player with technique and strength issues to be on the field right away; this is a quality depth cornerback early in his career who can work out a role on special teams, an area where he has experience in all four core units. I expect Masses to be in a rotation at cornerback, with some games where he is inactive due to dressing on the occasional game week.

There is talent here to develop, and Masses' instincts, skill set in zone, and ball production will help him onto the field in Leonard's defense within another year or so. The best thing about this selection is, again, the depth that he'll provide while helping raise the floor of the roster.