Wide receiver is widely considered one of the Las Vegas Raiders’ top needs heading into the 2026 NFL draft, and for good reason. The roster lacks a proven wideout, as Tre Tucker’s 696 yards from last season are the closest the current position group has to a 1,000-yard campaign. Also, the Raiders got very little production out of the two receivers they drafted last year: Jack Bech and Dont’e Thornton Jr.
Focusing on Bech, he caught just 20 passes for 224 yards and had no touchdowns as a rookie. However,
there’s reason for optimism that the 2025 second-round pick will put up better numbers under the new coaching staff since he’s a good fit in Klint Kubiak’s offense to help temper Las Vegas’ need for another pass-catcher.
For starters, Pete Carroll’s crew was notorious for not playing rookies last year, and Bech was one of the biggest victims. Despite being the eighth wide receiver taken off the board in the spring, he ranked 18th among first-year wideouts with 193 routes run during the fall, according to Pro Football Focus.
In comparison, Luther Burden III was drafted just 19 spots higher and began the campaign in Ben Johnson’s dog house, but still received nearly 50 more opportunities to catch a pass than Bech did during the regular season. Even Thornton (253) ran more routes.
Also, the TCU product may not have had many opportunities as a rookie, but he was effective with the ball in his hands. Per Pro Football Reference, 11 of his 20 catches went for a first down, and he had a 58.6 percent success rate on 29 targets. The latter bumps up to 85 percent when considering catches instead of targets. Obviously, it’s a small sample size, but it’s encouraging that Bech was efficient in his limited role.
Of course, what matters most moving forward is how he fits in Kubiak’s offense.
The playcaller favors wide receivers whom he can move around to create mismatches and help scheme pass-catchers open. So, having the versatility to operate from the slot and out wide is a big factor in his system. Bech was predominantly used on the boundary last year (71.8 percent of pass snaps, via PFF), but was more versatile in college, with 55.0 percent of his career pass snaps coming on the inside.
Granted, the former Horned Frog’s most productive season in Fort Worth was when he primarily lined up out wide, hauling in 62 catches for 1,034 yards and nine touchdowns in 2024. But as a draft prospect, he profiled as a receiver who can win from both alignments, owning production on the outside with a skill set that can transfer on the interior.
“Overall, Jack Bech projects as a power slot, possession receiver who will thrive working the horizontal route concepts like crossers, dig/daggers, inside hitches, over routes, etc,” Bleacher Report’s Dame Parson wrote in the wideout’s scouting report. “Bech can become the glue guy for an NFL passing offense and handle the dirty work route concepts in the middle of the field with defenders converging from their landmarks.”
Another crucial aspect of playing receiver in Kubiak’s West Coast style of offense is the ability to create yards after the catch. The 6-foot-1, 215-pounder isn’t very shifty to juke defensive backs out, but he does use his size well to run over smaller defenders and help fight for every yard. That allowed him to average 5.5 YAC per reception and record 17 missed tackles, per PFF, during his senior year at TCU. The latter was tied for sixth among Big 12 wide receivers, as Bech can make plays with the ball in his hands.
Finally, run blocking may not seem like a major factor of wide receiver play in most offenses, but it is in Kubiak’s. Watch some of the Seattle Seahawks’ highest scoring games from last season, and you’ll see guys like Cooper Kupp, Jake Bobo and even Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba mixing it up in the running game. Those three all finished in the top 25 among wide receivers with their PFF run-blocking grades on zone runs, while Kupp (74.7, sixth) and Bobo (72.1, 10th) were in the top 10.
This is where Bech’s background as a former tight end comes in handy. He’s physical on the perimeter to the point where run-blocking is one of his strengths, finishing third among Big 12 wide receivers with a 74.5 mark from PFF in that department during his senior season in college.
To help paint the full picture, the 2025 second-round pick’s lack of speed will still be an issue even after the coaching change in Las Vegas. Kubiak tends to lean toward receivers who can make an impact on all levels of the passing game, and Bech isn’t scaring any defenses over the top. However, Kubiak carved out a role for Kupp last season, and the 32-year-old is far from a burner at this stage in his career.
So, as the Raiders creep closer to the draft, don’t be surprised if they hold off on adding a wide receiver with one of their premium picks. Seeing what Bech can do with a bigger opportunity wouldn’t be a bad idea, especially since his alignment versatility, YAC skills and run blocking should make him a good fit in Kubiak’s offense.
