The Raiders addressed a lot of needs in the 2026 draft, but there are still plenty of questions around the wide receiver room.
Tre Tucker and Jalen Nailor would most likely be at the top of the depth chart if the season started today, but Jack Bech and Dont’e Thornton Jr. are two second-year players that could emerge, as well.
There has been speculation the Raiders might try to bring in a veteran wide receiver before the start of the season, but flagship radio host Q Myers thinks the decision makers in the building will take a more patient approach.
“I know AJ Brown is going to get traded, but I don’t believe you want that in the locker room. Not that he’s a bad guy, but there’s a certain image, a certain characteristic that John Spytek and company are trying to build. I don’t think A.J. Brown fits in that mold,” Myers said on the Locked on Raiders Squad Show podcast.
“Having a veteran wide receiver helps a lot and is a good best friend to a quarterback, especially a young quarterback because you can count on him. You could trust him. That’s what you saw even last year with Keenan Allen there in LA with the Chargers that when it was third and got to have it, he would made himself available for Justin Herbert. Those are the advantages right there,” Myers continued.
“Maybe this is blind faith… [but] I trust Kubiak to be able to scheme these guys open and use what he can do, his skill set as a play caller, to their advantage. I go back to Speedy Naylor, if he’s stretching the field, that opens up the underneath in the middle for a guy like [Brock] Bowers and Michael Mayer. I just think that that’s how they butter their bread this year. I really do. I don’t think they are going to need that true no. 1 receiver this year.”
Myers’ co-host, Lincoln Kennedy, said he agreed on the Raiders’ approach to the wide receiver position, adding that he didn’t want to see the Raiders add a diva wideout to the locker room.
“I think that when we did our mock drafts and when we looked at the offseason with the acquisitions and we saw what the Raiders did, in the back of my mind said ‘You know what? They’re probably not going to address this receiver position in the draft,'” Kennedy said.
“It’ll probably be next year. And for as many people talk about Denzel Boston and all these other receivers, I saw where teams like Cleveland went. I saw where other teams went. I just didn’t have those guys designated as a true X,” Kennedy continued.
“I have not seen that out of these players. Not to say that it’s not going to be next year, sure as, but I still think that you have to see what you have out of Jack Bech. The Jack Bech and Brock Bowers combo and Naylor out there, you have to see that what you have. Dont’e Thornton Jr., I think, will be better. I think a lot of times when they were throwing those 50-50 balls up last year, he just wasn’t in the right place, but he’ll get better with his route running.”
Kennedy’s comments around Thornton were interesting because the former Tennessee wide receiver isn’t going into the 2026 season any momentum. Thornton struggled for most of his rookie season and there have been rumblings that it’s no guarantee he’ll even make the roster in his second season.
x: @raidersbeat