Klint Kubiak’s unprovoked comments about a player fans seem to be forgetting about could completely change the Raiders’ draft plans
The Las Vegas Raiders love what wide receiver Tre Tucker brings to the table, and new head coach Klint Kubiak made sure to let everyone know that.
The Las Vegas Raiders have a ton of needs all over their roster. Of course, the defense was almost completely depleted as free agents left and changes were made, while the offense was the worst in the NFL last season. Vegas has made some free agency moves to both, but there’s still work to be done.
One of the more intriguing positions that fans and media alike want to see addressed in the 2026 NFL Draft is the wide receiver position. It’s intriguing because they could use another receiver, given the room isn’t amazing on paper right now. But also, there are so many other needs, and you want to still put as many weapons around your rookie quarterback as possible. So, the discussion has been, what range do they take for a wide receiver?
Is this a need they address immediately, as in pick No. 36 in the second round? Based on how they feel about the guys they have, they may wait even longer. We know they love Nailor, Bech, and Thornton. However, because of one of those being a signee and two going into their sophomore seasons, it felt like Tre Tucker was the odd man out. Man, were we wrong about that one.
Kubiak may not think WR is as big of a need as we all do
“One guy that sticks out is watching Tre Tucker play football,” Kubiak said at the league meetings when asked about one player who’s stood out to him. “He’s kind of everything that we’re about, the way that his play style, how good of a teammate that he is. He’s one of those guys like Maxx [Crosby]. There are about 25 guys that are there working out with A.J. [Neibel] four days a week, five days a week right now. So, there’s already a culture of hard-working guys in our building. He’s an example of one of them.”
When you look at the roster, Tucker was the odd man out for more than just the reason listed previously—they are also missing a true X receiver. Tucker is more of a guy who would probably be good in the slot, but Nailor may take that position because he’s better there. So, where did that leave Tucker? Well, we’re not really sure where he was at on the depth chart. But now it feels like he may be a starter. And the Raiders may think they don’t even need an actual X receiver.
“I think everyone would love the traditional Megatron X in their offense,” Kubiak said when asked about the need at the position. “You don’t see those guys as much. I think you’re just trying to get your five best eligibles however you can get them and then go get them open on game day.”
These comments could change things drastically for the Raiders and their draft plan. Or, this could be smoke to make everyone think exactly that. Or, who knows, Tucker is on the last year of his rookie deal—this could be Kubiak hyping him up for trade value. Either way, we won’t know exactly what the Raiders are going to do about the receiver position in the draft until we get there. Maybe now, instead of taking one in the second round, they take one in the fourth round, like USC WR Jakobe Lane. What we do know is the players they seem to be interested in. Players like KC Concepcion and others, via Top 30 visits, show us that. Now, it’s time to wait.
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