Las Vegas Raiders HC Klint Kubiak is liking what he’s seeing from a guy the fan base recommended be traded
The Las Vegas Raiders have a decent wide receiver room, and that’s largely because of Tre Tucker.
The Las Vegas Raiders are pretty much done building their roster. There likely won’t be any other big-time signings, like a veteran wide receiver, etc. That was the one position it seemed the entire fan base waited for, that, or trading wide receiver Tre Tucker.
It’s been obvious the latter was never going to happen. At the league owners’ meetings, head coach Klint Kubia told everyone just how much he loved Tucker. Still, we waited for a possible NFL Draft trade to happen. Nothing ever happened, and now Kubiak is telling us again how much he loves Tucker.
“Really, no surprise there from what you’ve seen previously,” Kubiak told reporters earlier this week. “He can run all day. He’s a quiet leader, a guy that we’re going to put in a leadership role. He’s got to be a playmaker for us, and he has been. And now let’s go see what else we can get out of him.”
Tucker can be a big-time playmaker for this team. We saw it a few times last season, whether it was the three-touchdown game or one of the few deep-ball plays he had. Still, there is a need for someone to step up in the WR room this season, and maybe that’s Tucker.
Raiders are also depending on second-year wide receivers Jack Bech and Dont’e Thornton
The Raiders wanted to see what Jack Bech and Dont’e Thornton could do in a real offensive system before making any decisions, so they didn’t draft a WR until the sixth round with Malik Benson. They’re very confident in what they have.
“Yeah, we’re counting on them. We’re counting on them to produce for us. The good thing is there’s competition with [Jack] Bech and with DT [Dont’e Thornton Jr.]. There’s a lot of competition in that receiver room, and may the best man win.”
The first four are set. The next two positions, if they decide to keep six wide receivers—some teams keep just five—are more difficult. It would be easy to name Dareke Young, the former Seahawks WR signed this offseason, and Malik Benson, their draft pick, as the next two in line. However, there’s more competition than it seems; any of the talented UDFA WRs could earn the spot.
Phillip Dorsett and Shedrick Jackson were on the team last season. UDFA WRs EJ Williams, Chase Roberts, Jonathan Brady, and Corey Rucker are all talented and could make an impact. The room is clearly strong, but there is still a ton of mystery. Maybe Tucker steps up and becomes a WR1, or maybe it’s Nailor.