Klint Kubiak and Rob Leonard aren’t the only Las Vegas Raiders play callers meticulously pouring over training camp practices, accompanying film, and previous year’s game tape to make key decisions on starters and overall depth.
While the jobs of the head coach (and primary offensive play caller) and the defensive coordinator, respectively, tend to garner most of the attention — as is the case with Kubiak and Leonard — special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis is slated to make critical choices, too.
Similar to how the rookie head coach (Kubiak) and rookie defensive coordinator (Leonard) are deciding starters at important positions on offense and defense, the veteran special teams boss is charged with identifying the best options to bolster and breath life into a unit that face planted — hard — in 2025.
DeCamillis is overseeing a lively kicker competition between veteran Matt Gay and undrafted rookie free agent Kansei Matsuzawa. Both have showcased accuracy and had bouts with misses recently in practices and the battle is ongoing, however Matsuzawa hitting the upright on his miss against the Arizona Cardinals in the preseason opener coupled with not getting a kickoff attempt into the landing zone for a penalty isn’t the impression an undrafted rookie wants to deliver the coaching staff.
Then, our Matt Holder not only called out another special teams competition, but hilariously gave me a shut out while doing so: The competition between Tyler Duzansky and Alex Ward for the long snapper spot.
There’s also the long-dormant portion of the Raiders’ special teams: The return game.
One of the promising signs of training camp practices in that regard is seeing explosive wide receivers veteran Tre Tucker and rookie Malik Benson cutting their teeth as kick and put returners. That duo, along with others competing for the gigs, can breath some life into a return game that hasn’t visited the end zone since the 2011 (Jacoby Ford’s 101-yard kickoff return on October 16) and 2018 (Dwayne Harris’ 99-yard punt return on December 24) seasons.
Veteran wide receiver Devin Thompkins got most of the work returning kicks in the Raiders 27-14 loss to the Cardinals in the preseason opener. The 26-year-old free-agent addition returned three kickoffs for 91 yards (30.3 average per return) with a long of 33. Rookie running back Mike Washington Jr. and Benson each field a kickoff and returned them for 22 and 21 yards, respectively. Thompkins also had the lone punt return for 10 yards.
Tale of The Tape
Tucker provides the most curious case in regards to the return duties competition.
This is due to the fact he was a prolific kick returner during his collegiate career at Cincinnati — 67 total returns for 1,670 yards and two touchdowns; season high in 2021 with 22 returns for 557 yards and a score — and it was a logical assumption when the Raiders made the wideout their third-round pick (100th overall) in the 2023 NFL Draft, Tucker would get his fair share of opportunities to do that job in Las Vegas.
Yet, in his three seasons in the league, Tucker’s career count reads: One kick return for 23 yards, and that lone statistical mark is from last season.
It’s quite understandable why the 25-year-old’s participation rate in that particular department is near non-existent, when you consider Tucker being an integral part of the offense and limiting his exposure to potential injury is a prudent move. But unlike previous years, Las Vegas bolstered it’s explosiveness and speed at the wide receiver position by adding Jalen Nailor and Benson in free agency and the draft, respectively, and also having incumbents Dont’e Thornton Jr. and Shedrick Jackson on the 90-man roster.
So there’s a window for Tucker to get more exposure in an element which he shined in college.
Flip it to Benson and the Raiders’ sixth-round pick (195th overall) in the 2026 draft is impressing the coaching staff this offseason. Highlighted as one of the rookie risers in training camp with his explosiveness and electricity on offense and special teams, the 6-foot-1 and 195-pound Oregon product certainly has the juice to make an impact as a punt returner as he housed one of his nine returns last season for the Ducks (nine total for 161 yards and a score — an 85-yard scamper against USC).
That return showcased not only Benson’s timed speed (4.37 second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine) but how much of a smooth strider he is which makes it look effortless.
“You saw the speed in college, and obviously, coming from college, I did see a little bit more of — there’s not a lot of great punters, and what he’s going to have to show us is he’s going to be able to catch an NFL punt, which is a lot different than a college punt, in my opinion,” DeCamillis qualified when asked about how Benson helps the return game. “So, that’s going to be where it’s at. But I mean, he’s got playmaking ability, he’s tough, he puts his head in there, and I’m excited to have the guy, for sure.”
The Competition
It’s highly plausible Tucker’s importance on offense outweighs the impact on special teams and if that occurs once again, reserve running back Dylan Laube and free-agent addition and wide receiver Dareke Young options for DeCamillis to man kick return duties.
Laube, drafted in the sixth-round (208th overall) in the 2024 draft, paced Las Vegas with 33 kick returns for 855 yards (long of 38) last season. Young, on the other hand, is a Seattle Seahawk import and an imposing 6-foot-2 and 224 pound and made the most out of his limited opportunities returning kickoffs last season with 10 returns for 322 yards (long of 60).
To maximize roster potential, Benson can mix in on kickoffs also Jackson, who clocked an impressive unofficial 4.25-second 40-yard dash at Maryland’s Pro Day back in 2023. And of course, Thompkins who received plenty of work on Thursday.
Over on the punt return side, Tucker is mixing in with Benson but keep an eye out for Jermod McCoy, the Raiders’ fourth-round pick (101st overall) in the 2026 draft. A prospect with first-round talent that dropped in the draft due to concerns with a knee injury he suffered at Tennessee, McCoy has the explosiveness and athleticism to do the job — health permitting, of course.
“Yeah, no question. We didn’t see that in spring because he wasn’t able to practice as much,” DeCamillis said when asked about McCoy as a punt returner. “He did have one today that looked good in that drill, so hopefully we can get him going because he’s definitely going to be a plus if we can get him out on the field for sure.
