There’s a breath of fresh air in the desert as the Las Vegas Raiders scooped up Klint Kubiak — one of the younger, more creative offensive minds in the NFL — to be the new head coach heading into 2026 and beyond.
Kubiak’s ascension and arrival provide a bright light for the Silver & Black to turn around an offense that ranked dead last in points scored and yards gained (32nd out of the 32 teams) last season and hasn’t had a top 10 scoring group since Jon Gruden helmed the team in 2020.
And it’s no
surprise that many of the queries thrown Kubiak’s way since he was hired in early February center around how the 39-year-old head honcho is planning to bring the Raiders offense back to prominence.
Among Las Vegas new lead man’s comments when asked about the offense is quite intriguing though: Tre Tucker. Kubiak was initially asked about the wide receiver (heading into his fourth year in the league) at the NFL Scouting Combine (at the tail end of February). And a month later, at the Annual League Meeting Kubiak brought up Tucker again — this time unprompted. The coach is surely talking up the speedy wideout — a lot.
By The Numbers
Tre Tucker, Wide Receiver, 4th Year
- 2025: 17 games (17 starts), 92 targets, 57 receptions 696 yards, 5 touchdowns; 11 carries, 51 yards
- Career: (2023-25), 50 games (32 starts), 207 targets, 123 receptions, 1,566 yards, 10 touchdowns; 30 carries, 172 yards, 1 touchdown
Kubiak’s comments on Tucker above highlight the immediate impression the new coach got from the wide receiver he inherits as the primary play caller in Las Vegas. Highlighting toughness despite being a shorter pass catcher at 5-foot-8, Tucker is using every bit of his 182-pound frame to be an ample blocker in support of the run game and quick-passing sets.
The “not missing games” portion of that interview at the combine does highlight Tucker being available for 50 out of the 51 games total in his first three seasons with the Raiders after the team drafted him in the third round (100th overall) of the 2023 NFL Draft.
The 25-year-old wide receiver was a 17-game starter this past season and hauled in 57 passes for 696 yards and five touchdowns with a long reception of 61 yards — all career highs.
Then, at the league meetings at the end of March, Kubiak name dropped Tucker again, this time, when asked about the biggest pleasant surprise that he didn’t see from the outside about the Silver & Black.
“Yeah, I mean one guy that sticks out is watching Tre Tucker play football. He’s kind of everything that we’re about, the way that his play style, how good of a teammate that he is,” Kubiak explained. “He’s one of those guys like Maxx (Crosby). There’s about 25 guys that are there working out with A.J. (Neibel) four days a week, five days a week right now. So, there’s already a culture of hard working guys in our building. He’s an example of one of them.”
Which beckons a key question: Is Kubiak the Raiders’ coach that can unlock Tucker?
If he is, it’ll pay dividends for both Las Vegas and the wide receiver as Tucker heads into the final year of his rookie contract (making $3.88-plus million this coming season).
As our own Matt Holder noted above, Tucker has the skillset and traits to shine in Kubiak’s offense and how the Raiders play caller deploys the wide receiver this coming season bears a ton of watching. Las Vegas wasn’t a team that habitually used pre-snap motions to maximize what Tucker brought to the table and seeing him on the move should — at least — help make the Raiders offense less predictable.
Alongside feeding Tucker the ball on short, intermediate, and deep passes. Taking advantage of the Cincinnati product’s elusiveness and fleet feet to create yards after catch (YAC) hasn’t been fully exploited in Tucker’s first three seasons in the NFL.
With veteran Kirk Cousins now in the Raiders’ fold, Kubiak gets a familiar signal caller who has the experience and production to run the offense he’s installing in the desert. Cousins’ quick decision making, accuracy and anticipation bodes well for a receiver of Tucker’s caliber as the 37-year-old has enough velocity in his arm to make all the requisite throws.
And size be damned, says Kubiak.
“Yes, sir, absolutely. I think that every team I’ve ever been on, there’s just players that surprise you. For instance, last year, Jax (Jaxon Smith-Njigba) — he wasn’t supposed to be an outside receiver,” Kubiak noted when asked about Tucker’s size, or lack thereof. “I thought he did a pretty good job last year. So, you’re just finding what guys do best and trying to use their abilities to help the team.”
Smith-Njigba is bigger than Tucker at 6-feet and 197 pounds and exploded in Year 3 with an impressive 119-catch, 1,793-yard, 10-touchdown Super Bowl winning campaign with the Seattle Seahawks in 2025 — with Kubiak dialing up the plays.
“I think, everyone would love the traditional Megatron X in their offense. You don’t see those guys as much,” Kubiak noted, doubling down on Tucker. “I think you’re just trying to get your five best eligibles however you can get them and then go get them open on game day.”
A pair of Kubiak’s assistant coaches will be instrumental in unlocking Tucker: Wide receivers coach Zach Azzani (27 years of experience developing wideouts in both the pro and collegiate game) and offensive line coach Rick Dennison (30 years of experience including being a zone blocking and Kubiak disciple).
Azzani will have a direct hand in getting Tucker and other wide receivers up to speed and ready to play in Kubiak’s offense (this includes 2025 picks Jack Bech and Dont’e Thornton Jr. (who has Megatron size)) while Dennison is charged with developing and directing the offensive line. If that group isn’t up to snuff, it won’t matter what Kubiak’s intentions are.
