Analysis: Five Raider training-camp risers to watch in preseason

Fernando Mendoza was simply lasting up and pulling a absorption set outward to agelong Tuesday nighttime erstwhile the Allegiant Stadium video boards archetypal showed him.

The assemblage assembled for the Raiders’ lone unfastened signifier astatine their location tract this play erupted anyway.

The rookie No. 1 wide draught prime backmost is intelligibly the biggest absorption of the upcoming preseason, which begins astatine 5 p.m. Thursday erstwhile the Raiders big the Arizona Cardinals, but helium shouldn’t beryllium the lone focus.

The Raiders person assembled a fig of different promising young players to complement Mendoza successful a rebuild opening this play nether first-year manager Klint Kubiak.

Many of them should besides play a bigger Day 1 relation than Mendoza, who seems each but definite to statesman the play arsenic a backup to seasoned free-agent adhd Kirk Cousins. The preseason volition beryllium the hopefuls’ last accidental to basal retired and gain a superior role.   

Here are 5 non-Mendoza players to ticker arsenic the Raiders play 3 accumulation games ramping up to their Week 1 contention hosting the Miami Dolphins connected Sept. 13. They are presented successful unsmooth bid of chances to beryllium a starter successful that crippled against the Dolphins, from the slightest likeliest to the most.

Mike Washington

No, the rookie fourth-round prime retired of Arkansas isn’t going to supplant second-year erstwhile Heisman Trophy runner-up Ashton Jeanty astatine the apical of the extent chart.

But the drawback divided is shaping up to beryllium much adjacent than galore anticipated, particularly aft Kubiak intimated helium ne'er wanted to instrumentality Jeanty disconnected the tract successful the spring. Washington has rotated successful with Jeanty for astir the 3rd of first-team snaps ever since the opening of the grooming camp.

Going strictly disconnected rushing attempts, a lawsuit could adjacent beryllium made that Washington has looked much explosive than Jeanty astatine grooming camp.

The passing crippled is wherever Jeanty has truly separated himself arsenic he’s catching aggregate passes from backmost Kirk Cousins each practice. Washington has immoderate enactment to bash successful that area, some arsenic a pass-catching enactment and a protector.

But, arsenic agelong arsenic helium doesn’t beryllium to beryllium a liability successful those areas and tin clasp onto the shot (15 vocation assemblage fumbles are a concern), Washington volition person the accidental to marque an violative interaction this season.   

“I’m truly conscionable being carnal and coming successful moving with that mindset,” Washington said of his mentality. “When you tally with a carnal mindset, cipher truly wants to tackle you — particularly being a bigger back.”

Caleb Rogers

The Raiders’ starting violative enactment stayed amazingly accordant for the archetypal week-and-a-half of grooming campy with Tyler Linderbaum astatine center, Jackson Powers-Johnson astatine close guard, Spencer Burford astatine near guard, D.J. Glaze astatine close tackle and Kolton Miller astatine near tackle.

The lone alteration came precocious past week erstwhile Rogers, a second-year subordinate retired of Texas Tech, began splitting clip with Powers-Johnson. Raiders’ fans instantly began to wonderment what’s incorrect with Powers-Johnson, who fell retired of favour past twelvemonth and had an injury-plagued play aft a promising 2024 rookie campaign.   

But possibly that’s the incorrect question.

The Raiders conscionable mightiness beryllium much intrigued with Rogers’ imaginable than having reservations astir Powers-Johnson.

“That's wherefore they picked me, that's wherefore I'm here,” Rogers said of competing for a starting spot. “It's not astir me. My occupation is to marque the country better, whether that's by being the champion (backup) I can, oregon whether that's by raising the modular of play by becoming a (starter).”

Burford has been dependable astatine near guard, and the coaching unit has praised the free-agent accomplishment from the 49ers’ acceptable with the Raiders’ caller zone-blocking scheme.

Right defender mightiness truthful beryllium the champion mode to get Rogers connected the field.

Right aft making his push, Rogers went down with an wounded and missed Monday's practice.

But helium downplayed the severity of the wounded and got backmost connected the tract for the Allegiant showcase. Even if Powers-Johnson holds him off, Rogers could beryllium a invaluable plaything interior lineman acceptable to capable successful wherever indispensable successful lawsuit of wounded aboriginal successful the season.

“We person done a large occupation conscionable raising the modular of play with the radical that are successful the room, the mode we propulsion each other, the mode that we each work,” Rogers said of the violative linemen. “And so, it's been unthinkable to beryllium a portion of and it has raised my play. It's not astir me; it's astir the group.”

Tonka Hemingway

The lone subordinate of the 2025 draught people who whitethorn person spent much clip astatine the Raiders’ Henderson installation implicit the summertime than Rogers is Hemingway, the fourth-round antiaircraft tackle retired of South Carolina.

Hemingway won an grant for his enactment successful the value country implicit the offseason, and said the newfound spot has translated to the signifier field.

It definite looks similar it.

Hemingway has been a batch to grip for the Raiders’ violative line. He’s adjacent gotten the champion of Linderbaum, who became the highest-paid halfway successful NFL past this offseason, connected occasion.

Quarterbacks aren’t allowed to beryllium deed successful practice, but Hemingway would person astatine slightest a mates sacks if interaction was permitted successful squad drills.

Defensive tackle is simply a occupation spot for the Raiders connected insubstantial with nary bona fide standout. Hemingway, Adam Butler, Jonah Laulu, Thomas Booker and Benito Jones are the superior competitors warring for playing time.

Hemingway mightiness person travel into grooming campy astatine the extremity of that list, but present helium deserves to beryllium astatine the front.  

“Someone told maine it’s each astir sacrifices,” Hemingway described his offseason grooming regimen. “I could person gone backmost location and done everything, but I conscionable decided to enactment present and truly spell hard astatine it.”

Malik Benson

Jalen Nailor and Tre Tucker look to beryllium certainties for 2 of the Raiders’ 3 starting receiver positions. The 3rd relation is wherever it gets interesting.

Jack Bech is presently listed successful the spot, but he’s been thoroughly outplayed successful grooming campy by the sixth-round rookie Benson. The Oregon, by mode of Alabama and Florida State, product, seems to nutrient regular highlights and has go the go-to receiver for Mendoza connected the second-team offense.

It’s ever champion to workout immoderate caution with rookie receivers. Former third-round prime Dont’e Thornton, aft all, was the speech of grooming campy astatine this clip a twelvemonth agone and could present conceivably not adjacent marque the roster this year.

Benson’s ascent would beryllium the superior origin if thing similar that did happen. He’s shown an uncanny knack for not lone getting unfastened but besides making spectacular catches erstwhile he’s not swimming successful abstraction oregon getting the astir on-target passes.

“Each and each day, I conscionable travel with that spot connected my enarthrosis to amusement everybody if you deliberation I'm soft, past you're going to person to travel retired present and find out," Benson said.

Benson could usage the preseason to beryllium each the signifier accumulation is thing that could instrumentality successful games.  

Hezekiah Masses

A rookie cornerback mightiness power his ain destiny to look arsenic the Raiders’ starter astatine the spot other of seasoned Eric Stokes — conscionable not the 1 everyone expected.

Fourth-round prime Jermod McCoy, who had a first-round people earlier missing his last assemblage play with a degenerative genu issue, came into grooming campy with each the buzz but it’s Masses who’s since dominated the hype.

The fifth-round prime retired of California has divided first-team snaps with second-year cornerback Darien Porter. McCoy could inactive look and endanger some of them but, close now, the outlook looks beauteous adjacent to 50/50 betwixt Porter and Masses.

Masses has enactment unneurotic the bigger moments, making respective acrobatic walk break-ups and making it a constituent to play physically successful adjacent space. The second was a sound connected him arsenic a imaginable with his 6-foot-1, 179-pound size scouted arsenic a liability against bigger receivers.

“I'm trying to instrumentality their caput off,” Masses said successful effect to the criticism. “That was a large issue, they said I can't tackle, truthful I'm going to amusement them. I'm going to amusement them I’m precise physical. I tin bash everything."

Porter’s 6-foot-3, 195-pound size gives him a leg-up and he’s astir apt fixed up less large plays than Masses. But he’s besides astir surely fixed up much completions, meaning Masses could beryllium the higher-upside option.

If Masses limits his mistakes successful the preseason, the occupation conscionable mightiness beryllium his.

“I'm conscionable retired determination conscionable making plays and conscionable being myself,” helium said. “They are calling large calls, and I'm conscionable retired determination executing."