Will Jack Bech be a bigger part of the Raiders’ offense in his second season?
Despite the Raiders having the worst record in the league in 2025, Bech was only on the field for 343 snaps in his rookie year. As a result, there are still a lot of unknowns about what Bech is capable of at the NFL level – especially considering the offensive coaching staff in Las Vegas last year was borderline incompetent.
This year, though, it sounds like the coaching staff has a plan for Bech and Silver & Black Sports Network’s Jesse Merrick talked about that dynamic last week after the team’s initial OTA sessions.
“I do want to note that we didn’t see Jalen Nailor out there today and, in his place, Jack Bech was really active,” Merrick said. “Previous staff didn’t seem to have a plan for Jack Bech. I watched one practice [at this year’s OTAs] and it is very clear to see that this team, this staff, has a clear plan for Jack Bech [and] understands what his skill set is,” Merrick said.
“I think there are brighter things on the horizon for Jack Bech… Already, Jack Bech is in a much better place, and I think he’s going to be set up to succeed in this offense, and we got little glimpses of that today.”
Bech came to the Raiders a year ago by way of a second-round pick after GM John Spytek traded down twice in the round. At the time, former NFL wide receiver Steve Smith made an interesting statement about Bech’s fit in the NFL.
“I think [Bech] creates more of a mismatch as a tight end rather than a wide receiver,” Smith said in May of last year. “I think he’s not as fast as you would want him to be, but he becomes a pass catcher and nightmare for a linebacker to cover.”
The plan under last year’s coaching staff was to move Bech around on offense, but with so much disfunction under former offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, nothing seemed to come together in 2025 the way it was supposed to.
Going forward, the Raiders are hoping to see if one of their young wide receivers will emerge, and Bech should have every opportunity (along with Dont’e Thornton Jr.) to have a more prominent role in his second season.
x: @raidersbeat