The Raiders didn’t do a lot to bolster their wide receiver room in the offseason, but it sounds like a couple of returning players have set the bar high since the send of last season.
Tre Tucker and Jack Bech are expected to have expanded roles in 2026, and according to Raider Nation Radio host Q Myers, both players showed up to OTAs with a little more body mass.
“Jack Bech… looks like he’s put on some size for sure,” Myers said on the Locked on Raiders podcast.
“Looks like he’s a little bit bigger, made some nice catches, and he’s a guy that I’m expecting to be a drive extender. A guy that’ll pick up a bunch of first downs. Third and eight could be Jack Bech time. It looked like that was kind of the role that he was playing.”
As for Tucker, it sounds like the fourth-year wideout spent the offseason putting on muscle, but Tucker has also embraced a new role in the locker room.
“Tre Tucker, he’s come a long way. I don’t know what Trey Tucker’s end-all-be-all role is going to be in this offense, but we saw him really come along last year. We heard about the way that he practices and the way that he plays in the game is the same way he practices,” Myers said.
“He goes game speed and practice all the time. And so it’s easy for him on game day. You could tell he’s gotten a lot bigger. He looks like he’s been working with the strength and conditioning crew. You know, you could tell that he, even listening to him, you can hear as he met with us after practice, you can hear the maturity in his voice,” Myers continued.
“I remember when [Tucker] came in as a rookie… he was real quiet… When we would talk to him in the locker room, right in front of him, we literally had to boost up the sound quality just so you can hear what he had to say. Now he’s saying it with his chest. He’s very confident. And I mean, look, he’s been in the league four years and now he’s one of the elder statesmen in that wide receiver room.”
There might not have been a lot of memorable moments for the Raiders and their fans in 2025, but one of the biggest compliments from the coaching staff last year involved Tucker.
“He’s been great, and I think he’s probably our best practice player,” former offensive coordinator Chip Kelly said of Tucker during the season.
“We always talk about you sync to your level of training. And he trains at such a high level, he’s playing at such a high level. And it’s a great point for all, especially our young players, that you can kind of point out that what you see out of Tre every day, and holy smokes, when you look at the GPS numbers and what he’s running in practice and doing, and then all of a sudden you turn on the tape and he’s doing the same exact thing….”
“He’s got these three or four passes over 20, getting behind people, but that’s what he does in practice, also. He’s kind of that what you want to show as a guy, like this is how you practice, that means this is how you’re going to play. And he’s a great example of that.”
Looking ahead, it will be interesting to see how Tucker responds to being the no. 1 wide receiver on the roster. Brock Bowers will draw the most attention in coverage, but Tucker is, by far, the most accomplished wide receiver on the Raiders’ roster.
At 5’8, Tucker might not have the size to be a true “X” receiver, but Myers and others have said they have confidence in Klint Kubiak’s ability to get Tucker involved in the offense even if he is a little undersized.
x: @raidersbeat
I still stand by the assessment that one of the reasons the Raiders offense has been subpar is that Tre Tucker has been the the #1 or #2. It’s not a knock on on Tuck, he’s a high end #3 or #4. It’s been a lack of talent at the position. He was behind Adams and Myers and he has moved up in targets as they were moved out. Has he improved? Absolutely, I’m not degrading his effort or commitment. A lot of teams have a player like Tucker, ideally, when he’s on the field, he’s matched to a safety or LB, because the corners are covering better wideouts. I hope Kubiak lines him up all over, including the backfield. Bech should have been on the field last season a lot more, it was treasonous what that coaching staff was doing NOT developing young talent. It will be up to him to earn his playing time, hopefully Q’s right about the offseason commitment. It’s a good sign.
Then why pay Nailor his ridiculous $$$? We have several #3 & #4 vying for the #1 & #2 spot. This offense should run through 1.Bowers 2. Jeanty 3-6. whomever else isn’t hurt at the time. Tucker is an OK 3, Nailor shouldn’t have been signed, Bech and Thorton were both overdrafted last year by at least a round each if not more in the case of Bech. Coaching should be much better this year at least on the offensive side. If the team can improve to 24 points per game we should be more competitive. The biggest thing isn’t who’s the top WR but will the zone blocking scheme work with the OL that is in place and can A.Jeanty actually produce like a top 10 selected draft pick?
I don’t disagree about the Bech pick, a high second round with obvious OL needs, after taking a RB in round one, was questionable decision. Followed that picking a project CB in the 3rd round. I’m holding out hope that Kubiak knows Nailor, and yes the salary is out of line, but it’s that Day One FA shopping day mentality that drives the price up on mostly marginal talent.