The Raiders have received a lot of love for selecting Texas Christian wide receiver Jack Bech in the second round of this year’s draft, but the wide receiver with as much potential as any of the wideouts in this year’s draft is Dont’e Thornton Jr.
Thornton ran a 4.30 forty at the 2025 combine and at 6’5, 205 pounds, the former Tennessee receiver comes with tremendous upside.
Thornton was widely projected to be a third or fourth round pick, but according to Sports Illustrated insider Hondo Carpenter, there were teams trying to move up in the draft to get him when the Raiders took him with the 108th pick.
“I think he’s special,” Carpenter said on the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast. “There were teams trying to trade up to get him when the Raiders selected him, so that’s a big deal. And I know that for a fact, because one of my friends’ teams was one of the teams trying to get up and he sent me a text when the Raiders picked him.”
With Thornton now in the mix in Las Vegas, it will be interesting to see if Tre Tucker’s role is affected.
Tucker was a third-round pick in 2023, but with a new GM and head coach in the building, the third-year wide receiver could lose snaps to Thornton, who has more size and speed.
As for the aforementioned Bech, he will have every opportunity to earn a significant role in Chip Kelly’s offense out of the gate. The team also has high hopes for sixth-round pick Tommy Mellott, who some believe compares favorably to former Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman, who also played quarterback in college.
There will be growing pains in year one, but the future at wide receiver in Las Vegas certainly looks a lot brighter than it did a month ago.
x: @raidersbeat
Tuckers role was affected by the Raiders when they drafted Bech. Because Bech is a Z WR that mostly plays in the slot. Same as Jacoby Myers, which is why Tucker spent a lot of time on the bench last year. They started using Myers primarily in the slot. Now the Raiders have receivers that play most effectively in the slot 🤔
Tuckers role was affected by the Raiders when they drafted Bech. Because Bech is a Z WR that mostly plays in the slot. Same as Jacoby Myers, which is why Tucker spent a lot of time on the bench last year. They started using Myers primarily in the slot. Now the Raiders have three receivers that play most effectively in the slot 🤔
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