HENDERSON, Nev.—The Las Vegas Raiders have continued to up the intrigue as training camp ramps up and preseason gets ever closer.
Many of the storylines that dominated the airwaves before the Raiders took the field are continuing to play out, but others have slowly begun to emerge as the first week of training camp is officially in the books.
More specifically, certain players have taken their opportunities to shine. Their play has jumped off the page early and has lead to expanded opportunities, providing real optimism as the days until the start of the season continue to dwindle down. With three preseason games and the rest of training camp to prove themselves, several Raiders are hoping that their strong first impression carries over and evolves into momentum going forward.
After Thursday’s practice and a brief review of the days before, here are some players stacking up the positive days so far, as well as one position group where opportunity is plentiful.
Kirk Cousins
Cousins got the nod from head coach Klint Kubiak for the starting job, and the veteran has done everything in his power to reward that trust.
With their connection from their shared time with the Minnesota Vikings, it is unsurprising that Cousins has gotten a quick grasp of Kubiak’s offense. Not only have the concepts looked crisp with Cousins under center, but he has been willing and able to space the targets out and not key in on a single player. While Brock Bowers has put together an impressive camp in his own right, Cousins has found chemistry with other receiving options such as Tre Tucker, Jalen Nailor (another former Viking) and Ashton Jeanty.
“It’s great. You love having a quarterback like that,” said offensive lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson. “I’ve been around a lot of quarterbacks in my time…but he knows the game. He’s been here for a very long time. He’s done it at a very high level for a very long time and it translates on the field.”
Malik Benson
On the offensive side of the ball, Benson has been the player who has changed his impression the most.
Throughout the first week, Benson has found himself open repeatedly. The work has not gone unnoticed by the coaching staff, as Benson has now found himself on the second unit catching passes from Fernando Mendoza. While there are rookie mistakes that happen, where the sixth-round rookie out of Oregon is already is quite impressive.
“He’s done a great job. I think he really has,” said Raiders assistant head coach Mike McCoy.
“He came in rookie camp and I think he found out what it’s like in the NFL in a hurry. The way we’re going to practice, the conditioning level, things like that in the offseason program. He’s came back in great shape and you see him getting better every day.”
Hezekiah Masses
Benson has increased his stock dramatically, but the ascension that had arguably been more impressive is Masses.
The last of four defensive backs selected by the Raiders in the 2026 Draft, Masses has stood out the most out of everyone in the secondary in training camp. Rotating with Darien Porter in the first-team defense with Eric Stokes and Taron Johnson, Masses has repeatedly made the right play and has looked like he belongs. There is a real possibility that Masses can end up getting starts in his rookie season, which would be a tremendous boon for the fifth-round pick.
“He’s been solid,” said Johnson about his rookie teammate. “Just continue to get better every single day.”
Tonka Hemingway
Hemingway has been another young defender that the Raiders have expressed excitement over, and the players and coaches have been praising his effort all week long.
Standing right next to Maxx Crosby, Hemingway has been a nuisance in his own right for the offensive line throughout training camp. When he does not have a lane to the ball, he has shown good habits in batting down passes and disrupting play that way. Hemingway looks stronger and faster heading into his sophomore season, and finding another threat opposite Crosby on the defensive line will only help as the Raiders defense focuses on making plays.
“Someone told me it’s all about the sacrifices,” attributed Hemingway to a strong offseason so far. “I could have went back home and everything, but I just decided to stay out here and really go hard at it.”
The offensive line
While no one on the offensive line has truly stood out so far, an aspect of them that has turned some heads is the competition throughout the line.
Kolton Miller and Tyler Linderbaum are locks at left tackle and center, respectively, but the rest of the positions are very much attainable. Spencer Burford and Powers-Johnson have drawn most of the first-team reps throughout camp, but Caleb Rogers has started to make a push. Meanwhile, third-round rookie Trey Zuhn is getting reps at right tackle for the second unit, suggesting he would be first in line to sub for DJ Glaze if the tackle does not take the next step.
“Every day you come out here is a competition,” said Burford.
“Anything that you do from meetings, anything that you do from being on the field and even the things you’re not watching as far as recovery, as far as treatment, all of that’s getting taken into account. Every day that you come out here is going to be a competition, whether you’re competing against defense or whether you’re competing against a guy in the room. At the end of the day, competition brings out the best in the individual.”