The moment the call came, hezekiah masses stepped into a story that had been building across two college stops and one standout senior season. The Las Vegas Raiders selected the California cornerback with the No. 175 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, and the choice kept California’s run of defensive backs in the draft alive for another year.
For Masses, the selection tied together a path that began at Florida International, shifted to Cal Berkeley, and ended with national recognition. For California, it added another name to a streak that has turned the program’s defensive back room into a recurring draft presence.
What did the Raiders see in Hezekiah Masses?
Masses arrived at Cal as a senior transfer and made the most of one season with the Bears. He led the nation last season with 18 passes defended, and the context around that number matters: 13 passes broken up, five interceptions, and 47 tackles. In a draft class that often rewards immediate production, those figures gave the Raiders a clear case for a corner who had already shown he could influence games in coverage.
The pick came at No. 175 overall, placing Masses in the fifth round. He was the 22nd cornerback drafted this year. The Raiders used their selection after taking projected first-round cornerback Jermod McCoy of Tennessee earlier in the draft, adding another defensive back to a class that had already begun to take shape.
Masses’ route to that moment was not the smoothest. He spent his first three seasons at FIU, where he totaled 74 solo tackles, four interceptions and 12 interceptions in his time there. Then came the move to Cal Berkeley, where the senior season became the most visible chapter of his college career.
Why does this pick matter for California?
For Cal, the selection was about more than one player. It marked the seventh consecutive year a Cal defensive back has been chosen in the NFL Draft. That kind of streak is rare enough to become part of a program’s identity, and Masses became the latest name to carry it forward.
The recent line of draft picks includes cornerback Nohl Williams in the third round, safety Craig Woodson in the fourth round and cornerback Marcus Harris in the sixth round a year earlier. The Bears’ current streak began in 2020, when safeties Ashtyn Davis and Jaylinn Hawkins went in the third and fourth rounds, respectively. Since then, Cal defensive backs such as Camryn Bynum, Elijah Hicks, Daniel Scott and Patrick McMorris have also heard their names called.
There is a practical side to that pattern. A total of nine Cal defensive backs were drafted over the previous six years, and eight of them were on NFL opening day rosters last fall. That is the kind of detail that gives a school’s draft streak real weight: it is not only about being chosen, but about staying in the league long enough to matter.
How did Masses’ final season shape his profile?
Masses’ senior year put him in the middle of a larger conversation about cover corners who can finish plays. He was named First-Team All-ACC and Second-Team All-American last season, recognition that matched the statistical output. The combination of production and honors helped define him as a player who could be trusted on the outside.
His profile also reflects the human side of the draft. A former two-star prospect out of Florida, Masses moved from an initial path at FIU to a bigger spotlight at Cal Berkeley. That kind of progression is not linear, and it is often the difference between being noticed and being overlooked. In his case, the final season gave the Raiders a player with measurable impact and a clear upward arc.
There is also the broader reality of draft opportunity. For Cal, another defensive back selected reinforces the program’s recent consistency. For Masses, it is the next step after a year in which his play became impossible to ignore.
What comes next for Hezekiah Masses?
The selection does not promise a finished story; it opens one. The Raiders added a cornerback who led the nation in passes defended and who arrived at this point through three seasons at FIU and one at Cal Berkeley. The next chapter will be about how that college production translates in a new environment.
For now, the scene is simple: a fifth-round pick, a draft room turn, and a streak preserved. In the background sits the same image that defined Masses’ final college season — a defender breaking up passes and forcing quarterbacks to think twice. For hezekiah masses, the question is no longer whether he belongs in the draft conversation. It is how far that conversation can still go.
