Last year, the Las Vegas Raiders struggled to create explosive plays. According to Sharp Football Analysis, the Raiders ranked 29th in explosive play rate, which is awful for an NFL offense. Enter young head coach Klint Kubiak, who led a Seattle Seahawks offense that was fourth in explosive play rate after the 2025 season. The big-play offense Kubiak deployed helped the Seattle Seahawks win the Super Bowl in 2025.
With his offensive mentality built around chunk gains in the running and passing game,
Kubiak and John Spytek went to work adding players who could help in that department. In the running game, they drafted Mike Washington Jr out of Arkansas to match with Ashton Jeanty. In the passing game, Jalon Nailor was the free agent to help in that department, and they drafted Malik Benson out of Oregon in the sixth round of the 2026 NFL draft.
Benson ran a 4.37 40-yard dash at the NFL combine, displaying his ability to win over the top of a defense. He was one of the main deep threats for the Ducks last season, averaging 16.7 and leading the team in receiving yards with 719. With an open receiver room, Benson’s hands and return ability give him a good opportunity to make the football team.
Besides his blazing speed, one thing that stands out about Malik Benson is his hands. He had one drop last season and a drop rate of 2.3% according to PFF. Benson catches everything that is thrown his way. The perfect example is the play below, where he gets a back shoulder on a slot fade from QB Dante Moore. The former Oregon Duck does a great job of tracking the football in the air and makes a toe-drag swag catch using pure hands along the sideline.
Here is another example of Benson exhibiting his great hands. In this play against Washington, he is running a dig route over the middle of the field against a zone defense. At the top of his route, Benson stops expecting the pass to hit him between the zone, but the ball is a little ahead of him. He stretches out and grabs the pass out of the air and then uses his YAC ability to finish off the play with a touchdown.
Of course, what he truly brings to the table is that he is a serious threat to the Raiders’ offense. He had a big game against James Madison with two touchdowns of over 50 yards. The first one displays how he can just use his pure speed to win over the top. Benson doesn’t use much nuance on the route and just runs past the defender for six and a huge play for the Oregon offense.
With a team looking for huge plays from their offense, Benson is the perfect fit for the new look offense. While he might have to earn his stripes returning kicks for the Raiders, he could become a contributor on offense later on in the season.
