Wide receiver Tre Tucker is the Las Vegas Raiders’ leading receiver with 15 catches for 233 yards and a touchdown heading into the Week 5 matchup against the New England Patriots.
However, tight ends Brock Bowers (16/202/2) and Michael Mayer (20/169/1) and running back Ashton Jeanty (19/165/2) occupy the second through fourth spots, and no other receiver has more than 65 yards on the campaign. On top of that, the majority of Tucker’s production came in one game, recording five receptions, 119 yards and his
lone score in Week 2 against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Granted, this shouldn’t be too surprising. The position is viewed as one of, if not the, weakest spots on the Raiders’ roster. Also, Las Vegas was expected to have a tight end-heavy offense after hiring Klint Kubiak as head coach in the offseason, especially since Bowers is such a unique offensive weapon. However, Kubiak may have to lean on his receivers more in New England.
According to StatMuse, the Patriots have only allowed 19 catches for 104 yards and have yet to surrender a touchdown to a tight end during their first four games of the season. Last week was especially impressive since Dalton Kincaid of the Buffalo Bills came into the game leading the position in receiving yards (263) but was limited to just seven yards against the Pats.
Of course, Bowers is more than capable of bucking that trend. But regardless, the Raiders need to get more production out of their wideouts moving forward.
After Tucker, Cody White has been the team’s next most productive receiver with five catches, 64 yards and a team-leading three touchdowns. As the latter number suggests, White has been a valuable red zone target with his contested-catch ability. However, he needs to be more productive between the 20s to have a bigger role in the offense moving forward.
Then, there’s the guy many are pointing the finger at: Jalen Nailor. Despite signing a three-year, $35 million contract in free agency this offseason, Nailor has just five catches for 52 yards and hasn’t found the end zone yet in four games with the Silver and Black. Obviously, that’s not what the organization bargained for during the spring. This being said, Nailor suffered a concussion last week and has not cleared the league’s protocol at the time of writing, meaning he may not play Sunday.
[Editor’s note: Kubiak said that Nailor is out for the Patriots game after this was written, shifting the focus to Malik Benson and Dareke Young.]
It’s still early in the season, so there’s time for a wide receiver to step up and to get more production out of the position. However, the clock is ticking, and it feels like the timeline is speeding up since the surprising 3-1 Raiders are in the playoff conversation after the first quarter of the season. That’s led to some trade rumors circulating in Sin City with the NFL’s deadline about a month away.
Many have started to speculate that receivers like Marvin Harrison Jr., Brian Thomas Jr., Jerry Jeudy and Chris Godwin could be on general manager John Spytek’s radar. So, Tucker, White and Nailor should feel some pressure heading into Sunday, especially given the Patriots’ success against tight ends.
To be fair, Marcus Johnson showed on the latest Tape Don’t Lie that there have been situations where wideouts have gotten open, but quarterback Kirk Cousins opted to throw elsewhere. That isn’t something new for Cousins, who has built a reputation for using his check-down options in the passing game. And who could blame him, given the difference in talent between the Raiders’ tight ends and wide receivers?
But that might not be the case in New England, meaning Cousins will have to rely on his receivers more than he has in the first month of the season. That creates an opportunity for Tucker, White, Nailor or any other wideout on the roster to have a big day.
So, for this week’s game day discussion on The FEED, we’ll be keeping tabs on Las Vegas’ wide receivers. The game kicks off at 10:00 a.m. PST and will air on CBS (check your local listings). I look forward to talkin’ some ball with y’all!
