All eyes have been on the injury statuses of Las Vegas Raiders star tight end Brock Bowers and stud Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Ladd McConkey ahead of the Week 2 battle between these AFC West foes. But the Silver and Black not having starting cornerback Darien Porter is also significant.
Bowers and McConkey are what make their teams' passing attacks function at the level that they do, but Porter earned all the reps in Week 1 against the Miami Dolphins for a reason, and he played quite well. Now, Las Vegas must lean on a trio of rookies or newcomers opposite Eric Stokes on Sunday.
Zeke Masses, in particular, seems poised to take a huge jump in terms of his snap share, and the hope is that the fifth-round rookie is ready. He better be, as the Chargers still have effective pass-catching weapons, and Masses is suddenly a linchpin for a secondary that has to be way better.
Darien Porter being ruled out is a fairly big blow for Raiders' defense
The battle between Porter and Masses this summer was tightly contested, but the thought was that the Raiders would rotate the two players on the boundary during the regular season. That didn't occur in Week 1, as Porter didn't come off the field against the Dolphins until he was injured.
And in those reps, he was fairly lights-out for the Las Vegas defense. According to Pro Football Focus, he was targeted five times and gave up just one reception for 12 yards. Looking at the film, Porter was certainly behind on the route, but Treydan Stukes didn't exactly help him out over the top, either.
Porter made two tackles, missing one as well. However, he relinquished a quarterback rating of just 39.6 when targeted, and Pro Football Network had Porter as the second-highest-rated cornerback in coverage on opening weekend in terms of impact, behind only the Patriots' Christian Gonzales.
Las Vegas ran a ton of zone coverage against the Dolphins, and Porter displayed good instincts and gummed things up for the Miami offense in Week 1. That ability will be missed against the Chargers, who have a better, more experienced quarterback and a more skilled set of pass-catching weapons.
But now, the team and Raider Nation must turn to Masses for hope.
Zeke Masses has a huge chance to step up for Las Vegas in Darien Porter's absence
When Porter went down with his foot injury last Sunday, Masses was the one to step in, playing 10 snaps in Porter's absence. Masses actually played quite well, notching a pass breakup on the only play that he was thrown at, which was his first of the game and career. The rookie was ready.
He also had a penalty for illegal use of hands, which gave the Dolphins an automatic first down. And the concerns with Masses starting were always about his run defense and ability to tackle, not really his coverage ability. In Week 1, all 10 of his snaps came against the pass with Miami trailing.
So, it remains to be seen how Masses can handle the rigors of a regular-season NFL game in terms of helping out against the run and being a sure tackler. It stands to reason that the Chargers, led by a smart offensive coordinator in Mike McDaniel, will look to exploit that.
With McConkey fairly likely to be out, the passing attack should filter through Quentin Johnston, who cannot be underestimated. His size and physicality could be an issue when he is lined up against Masses, and McDaniel's use of motion should help his team gain favorable matchups.
Of course, the secondary can't have a weak link, so Masses must step up to the plate and at least hit singles and doubles. The Raiders don't need a home run, but they can't have their rookie striking out. Luckily, nothing indicates that Masses will be a dud, although the unknown of a rookie is distressing.
Klint Kubiak also wouldn't commit to Masses being the starter, as he also mentioned fellow Day 3 rookie Jermod McCoy as an option, and it wouldn't surprise me if new addition Darrell Luter Jr. is active and potentially a factor on Sunday as well.
"We'll see. We got two guys that are ready to go. We've got Jermod [McCoy], we've got 35 [Hezekiah Masses]. So, we'll see who plays."
This is classic gamesmanship from Kubiak. Fortunately, confidence seems to be high in both players, both externally and internally.
“That’s how it should be,” DC Rob Leonard said to reporters on Thursday of Masses' play in Week 1. “You play like you practice. I was confident with him out there, and he went and did his job.”
"I treat every week the same," Masses told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "I always have supreme confidence even if I’m the backup that week."
“I’m seeing progress daily,” McCoy told the LVRJ. “My movement is feeling a lot better and things I used to be really good at, I’m starting to be able to do those things again.”
No matter who enters the lineup (it should almost exclusively be Masses, but we will see), the Raiders have confidence in their young players, and they have confidence in themselves. That is a recipe for success, with these inexperienced corners suddenly being of the utmost importance in a bind.
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