Raiders Rookie, Sophomore Power Rankings: Youth Movement Continues

The Raiders spent the offseason making wholesale changes to their coaching staff and roster. Like last season, many of those offseason additions came through the NFL Draft. So far, several of their draft picks from the past two seasons have played a significant role in their early success.

Below are Las Vegas' most impactful rookies and second-year players entering the fourth week of the regular season.

RB Mike Washington

The rookie running back entered Sunday's game against the New Orleans Saints having made little impact on the Raiders' first three games. However, against the Saints, Washington made one of Las Vegas' biggest plays.

The Raiders were reeling early in the second half after turning the ball over on special teams and giving up a touchdown shortly thereafter. Las Vegas was down double digits when Washington exploded for a 36-yard touchdown run that flipped momentum back in the Raiders' favor.

CB Hezekiah Masses

The Raiders' rookie cornerback had another interception in Week 3, continuing an impressive start to his career. Masses was regularly lined up against Chris Olave this past Sunday, who undoubtedly taught the rookie a lesson or two, but overall, Masses continues to play sound football.

However, the excellence of Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs' offensive play-callers cannot be overstated. Mahomes has a history of testing cornerbacks on the Raiders' roster. Masses' meteoric rise has certainly caught Mahomes' attention. He will come after Masses on Sunday.

RB Ashton Jeanty

It was another pedestrian outing for Jeanty on Sunday against the Saints. The second-year back finished the game with 56 yards on 19 carries. Both the Los Angeles Chargers last week and the Saints centered their entire game plan around stopping Jeanty and the Raiders' ground game.

However, Jeanty is also clearly not healthy. Jeanty injured his ankle shortly before the season started and had both ankles taped for the Saints game. Jeanty's skill set largely comes from his speed, burst, and ability to cut in and out of running lanes.

With his ankle far from 100%, many of his best traits are not fully there. His production and the Raiders' ground game will likely suffer until Jeanty is healthy. Kubiak recently shared his thoughts on Jeanty's health heading into the team's Week 4 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs.

"All the guys are sore. Nobody's 100%. That's part of the NFL. You got to play through it, and Ashton's [Jeanty] done a great job of playing through it," Kubiak said on Monday.

S Treydan Stukes

The Raiders' rookie safety missed Sunday's game with a concussion. His presence was sorely missed. If there was any doubt that Stukes should be the starter, or why he should be, that doubt should be gone for the rest of the season. The rookie is by far the best option Las Vegas has.

The speed, quickness, and ability to quickly diagnose plays were missing on Sunday. Once the Saints' offense realized that Stukes' replacement was the weakest link on the field, they routinely attacked him. Patrick Mahomes will do the same on Sunday if Stukes is not on the field.

Mahomes might do the same even with Stukes on the field. Las Vegas' defensive backfield will have its work cut out for it against the Chiefs. Stukes' absence on Sunday was so glaring that it is fair for general manager John Spytek to start peeking into the future at the position.

Las Vegas' remaining depth issues were no secret coming into the season. However, I don't think many expected Stukes' replacement would play as poorly as he did against the Saints. Luckily for the Raiders, the rest of their defense picked up the slack.