Las Vegas Raiders are loving what they’re seeing from one rookie who’s still ‘got a lot to prove’ to Klint Kubiak
The Las Vegas Raiders have a big question mark in the wide receiver room, but rookie Malik Benson seems to be coming along fine.
The Las Vegas Raiders are at training camp, and the rookies are balling so far. In fact, some of them are catching eyes, even sixth-round pick and wide receiver Malik Benson. But there’s still a lot to prove, and he could end up being a guy the Raiders rely on.
“It’s fresh off the field. I’ve got my eyes on a lot of things, mainly to make sure we’re staying up, which we didn’t do a very good job of today. We’ll go watch the practice film and see where we are,” Kubiak told reporters when asked about his thoughts on the wide receiver room during the first day of padded practice. “He’s [Malik Benson] got a good head start, playing good football. He has a lot in front of him and a lot that he needs to prove to us.”
Raiders wide receiver room is a big question mark, and Malik Benson could help
One of the bigger X-factors is the wide receiver room. There was always the belief that the Las Vegas Raiders wanted to see what Jack Bech and Dont’e Thornton could do in a real offensive system before giving up on them. That’s why they didn’t draft a WR until the sixth round in Malik Benson. So, they’re very confident in what they have.
Really, the top four receivers are set in stone. Nailor and Tucker are the two smaller guys who have speed and versatility to play either in the slot or downfield. Then Bech and Thornton are the two guys with dedicated roles: Bech is the big-body receiver who gets open vs. zone coverage, and Thornton is the downfield, big-body receiver who beats man press with speed.
The next two positions, if they even decide to keep six wide receivers, as some teams keep just five, are more difficult. The easy way out would be to say that Dareke Young, the former Seahawks WR they signed this offseason, and Malik Benson, whom they drafted, are the next two in line for the next two spots. However, there’s more competition than meets the eye. Any one of the very talented UDFA WRs could take that spot.
