It’s no secret that the third wide receiver spot on the Las Vegas Raiders’ depth chart is up for grabs during training camp. While 2025 second-round pick Jack Bech is the logical choice to win the job, Bech had an underwhelming rookie season and is far from a heavy favorite to earn the role on offense. That opens the door for a dark horse to factor into the mix, and 2026 sixth-rounder Malik Benson has turned some heads early in camp.
“Another late-round rookie who’s put veterans on notice this camp
is Benson,” The Athletic’s Sam Warren wrote on Aug. 3. “The sixth-round draft pick has found good chemistry with No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza so far, earning him more opportunities as camp has gone on.”
With plenty of eyes on Mendoza this summer, developing a connection with the future of the franchise will certainly help the Oregon product make a name for himself and climb up the depth chart. But Benson hasn’t just caught the media’s attention; he’s drawn good reviews from the coaching staff and his teammates as well.
Head coach Klint Kubiak was asked about the rookie receiver’s performance so far, and, in typical stoic Kubiak fashion, the coach said Benson has had a “good head start” and is “playing good football” while also noting that he still has a lot to prove to the coaching staff (h/t SleeperRaiders on X/Twitter).
The latter is certainly a fair statement. The Raiders only have about a week’s worth of practices under their belts, and the pads just came on at the time of writing. So, the first-year wideout still has plenty of checkpoints to clear before reaching the finish line and winning the race. But he’s out to an early lead and has drawn praise from his potential running mates, veteran wide receivers Tre Tucker and Jalen Nailor.
“Man, I’m so excited for him because as an older guy coming to the league with the guys that I had in my room, the one thing you want to see is a young guy that wants to get better,” Tucker replied when asked about Benson. “They’re not going through the motions, and Leek (Malik) comes in every single day and wants to get better. And he is getting better every play, every rep, and he can run all day.
“That’s something that I tell him that makes you super here in a way because if you can run all day, you can play fast, like there’s a spot for you here. So, I’m excited for him. I have him under my wing just to keep him going because I know what it’s like to be a rookie. I’m very excited for him, and I think he’s going to be a very big part of us this year too.”
Nailor shared a similar statement on the sixth-rounder’s performance.
“He’s a young kid; he has a ways to go, but he’s asking questions, he’s asking the right questions,” Nailor said. “He wants to be better, he wants to play, he wants to be on this team, he wants to show himself. So, just having that type of mindset as a young rookie, it means a lot. Just to have him asking questions, to me, it shows that he cares. I care as well, so I want to give him all the pointers that I can with whatever he’s asking.”
It will be interesting to see what Kubiak and Co. want to do with the wide receiver rotation moving forward. The passing game will likely be run through two-time Pro Bowl tight end Brock Bowers, and Kubiak leaned heavily on 12 personnel as the Seattle Seahawks’ offensive coordinator last year. Also, Tucker, Nailor and Benson have similar skill sets while Bech can bring something different out wide.
Of course, the Raiders’ coaching staff doesn’t have to have that figured out right now, as the season opener against the Miami Dolphins is still more than a month away. Additionally, it’s still early in training camp, so there’s time for Benson’s hype train to slow down. But that doesn’t change the fact that the Raiders’ sixth-round pick appears to be ahead of schedule and has a chance to take on a bigger role than previously expected.
